Meeting You
by KrystalClear101
Summary: AU. He came looking for something that most people don't find. Instead he met her, a girl with endless curiosity. Together they set off looking for love in all the wrong places. Advanceshipping.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: AU. He came looking for something that most people don't find. Instead he met her, a girl with endless curiosity. Together they set off looking for love in all the wrong places.

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"_I…sort of forgot my name…"_

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**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

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"_Sorry, I can't help you there."_

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_Chapter One_

Ash Ketchum, now seventeen years old and a very accomplished Pokémon Master, stared out the ocean themed horizon that sat in front him. He sighed into the cool evening as the sun crept even further into the blue depths of the sea. It had been such a long time since he had been on a boat, he nearly felt seasick. Still, the calming waters and gentle splashing did something to improve his mood as he stood contently leaning against the railing with his partner of seven years resting atop his hatless head.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" he said, resting his head on his folded arms. Pikachu regarded him with a confused look in his black eyes and replied with a soft pat to the trainer's head. Ash laughed lightly and stretched a bit before giving one last glance to the sunset.

"I mean I'm all for it adventure, I've been doing it for almost my entire life. But this seems…more like something Brock would do, don't you think?" he asked, scratching his head nervously. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared up at the ever darkening sky with his brows furrowed. Sensing his discomfort, Pikachu hopped down from his head and sat before the boy with a slightly frustrated look.

"Pika pi, Pikachu." Ash looked away sheepishly.

"It's a little late in the game for hesitance but I can't help it! I've never done something like this before." Sighing in a way only Pikachu can do so, he shook his little head, causing Ash to laugh lightly.

"Kachu pika pikachu pi Pika." He explained. Ash gave a crooked smile before taking the little rodent up in his arms and holding him at an arm's length.

"I suppose you're right. What's the worst that could happen anyway?" content, Ash put him back on his shoulder and walked across the deck to his room. At his last sentence, Pikachu shook his head again and merely smiled at Ash's denseness. They approached his door in no time where Ash fished in his pockets for the keys and unlocked the door. Pikachu yawned and hopped onto his own personal bed and curled up in a yellow ball of cuteness and quickly fell into a soundless slumber. Ash smiled at his companion and removed his shoes, and opted to sit on the bed and stare at nothing in particular.

Despite his refreshing conversation with the Pokémon, he still felt uneasy about the entire endeavor. Just like every other adventure he had gone on, he went alone with only Pikachu by his side. It was time to start over and go somewhere else for a change of pace. Not necessarily to conquer a league or anything like that, but for other reasons. He sighed once more and lay on his back, resting his arm over his forehead.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he asked no one in particular.

It was the night after his most recent league victory and Ash was excited beyond all belief. He could now truly call himself a Pokémon master. Not that he had caught every Pokémon out there, no that was simply impossible. But he had defeated every Elite Four member known to man and that was enough for him. He smiled as he looked out at his family of Pokémon and friends that had gathered to help him celebrate. One of them included his longtime friend Misty.

She was one of the gym leaders he had to overcome as a young boy.

"I'm proud of you Ash. You've come a long way." She smiled at him.

"Thanks Misty." He grinned back.

"So what's next for you? I mean, what else do you plan to do with your life?" she asked, curiously. In all honesty, he never considered the question before. Other things seemed so trivial compared to his one and only dream.

"What else is there?" he asked, sheepishly. Misty gave him a look that read 'Are you serious?' He shrugged with a nervous smile.

"Well, there's tons more out there for you to do. You're only seventeen and the world is a huge place. Go to school, find a job, fall in love, start a family." The list went on. Ash eyed her strangely as if she were speaking a different language.

"Fall in love?" he asked, questioning one of her suggestions. She arched an eyebrow at his confused expression. "I've already done that." Misty gaped.

"W-what? When did this happen?" she asked, severely surprised. He looked at her strangely.

"What do you mean? It happens all the time." He grinned. "I fall in love every time I enter the battle field with one of my Pokémon." She deadpanned.

"Wow Ash, that sounded really sincere but I was talking about falling in love with a _person_." At that he simply looked confused.

"With…a person?" he asked. "I love you guys. Isn't that the same?" Misty gaped again.

"Again, that's really sweet but that's a totally different kind of love. It's special." She answered, clasping her hands in front of her chest. And he scoffed at her expression.

"Pssh!" It's all the same to me."

"Ash! How do you think you got here? Love brought you here, that's how!" she shouted at the clueless boy. He merely stared at her blankly.

"I try not to think about that." He stubbornly crossed his arms. She sighed.

"Ash," she began. He looked at her crossed. "Have you…ever had a girlfriend? And I don't mean a girl who's your friend but a girl that…she makes you nervous and excited at the same time, in a good way of course." She explained. He pondered her question silently.

"No, I don't think so…" he answered truthfully. She shook her head with a sad smile.

"You don't know what you've been missing. Have you ever even kissed a girl? And I don't mean your mom or relatives." Again, he was silently thinking to himself, reminiscing.

"Nope." He shrugged.

"Then that's what your next goal is." She said, placing her hands on his shoulders. His eyes widened at her declaration.

"Misty, what-"

"You're going to find love, Ash Ketchum!"

And that's how he got where he is today, stepping off the bridge of the ship and into previously charted territory known as the Hoenn region. He looked up at the familiar blue sky that was littered with little white clouds here and there.

He sighed dejectedly and let his head fall into his chest. By now he was pretty sure that Pikachu was getting tired of his uneasy attitude and was ready to shock him a new one. He silently thanked the electric-type for being so patient with him. He walked further into the town and recognized it to be Littleroot Town, where he first began his Hoenn journey.

He remembered Pikachu being sick upon their arrival and seeking out Professor Birch who was good friends with Professor Oak. It wasn't the best way to start off in a new region but he eventually got over it. He wasn't all that fond of Hoenn though, seeing as it was one of the lesser exciting regions he travelled in. It was just him and his friend Brock. He hadn't met anyone else worth travelling with.

Shaking off the past, he made his way to the Professor's lab. He was fond of the professor for his adventurous attitude and love of nature. Ash smiled as he approached the building and prepared to knock. His knuckles banged against the door lightly and he stepped back, waiting for a response. Soon the door swung open and he caught sight the professor's assistant with the dark teal hair and glasses.

"Ash Ketchum? To what do we owe this surprise?" he asked as he ushered the boy inside. Ash merely smiled and walked in.

"I'm back in Hoenn and decided to visit before I hit the road again." He explained.

"Interesting. Sadly you just missed the professor. He went out for a little exploring just outside of town." His assistant said. Ash nodded with a crooked grin before he looked down at his watch.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to catch up with him later then." With that, he set off for the edge of town after waving to the other man whose name escaped him at the moment. He walked out into the forest and pushed back branch after branch until he made it to a nice clearing with a small pond and trees surrounding it. He smiled at the sight as Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and stared down at his rippling reflection.

He stretched and sat down and eventually lay back with his hands behind his head, staring up at the sky. He exhaled, deeply in thought.

"Find love, huh? How does she expect me to do that?" he closed his eyes, eyebrow furrowed in confusion. He was so entranced in his thoughts, he didn't hear footsteps though they were pretty light. But Pikachu's keen hearing managed to hear them as someone approached them from behind.

"I didn't think anyone else came here." His eyes opened slowly.

'_That voice…it sounds…funny. Who-' _his thoughts and all other brain functions stopped at the sight of the person above him. He gaped as he continued to stare, his gaze locked on every inch of her form that slightly towered over him. Never in his life had he seen eyes so blue, skin so peachy, a smile so bright. An unfamiliar lump formed in his throat and his stomach felt weird.

"Ah…uh…" he stuttered. Possibly confused, she tilted her head to the side.

"Hmm, I don't think I've even seen you here before. Are you new?" she asked. He nodded, the only thing he was capable of at this given moment. She smiled at his answer and tucked a stray piece of shiny chestnut hair behind her little ears. "Nice to meet you. I'm May, you are…?"

"Uh…I…" he paused, eyes wide with fear and confusion. What in the world was his problem? He had talked to plenty of girls before. "I…sort of forgot my name…" he muttered, face full of shame. She looked taken aback by his confession but smiled nonetheless.

"Oh? Sorry, I can't help you there." He sat up slowly and got to his feet only to find out that he stood a good six inches over her small, petite body. He gulped, sizing her up. She was the ideal vision of a woman he had yet to see. Her face was framed with bright eyes, a button nose, rosy cheeks, and pink lips. Her shoulders were small and complimented her nicely sized chest, not too big, not too small. Her waist was tiny compared to her hips giving her nice curves.

Thank god she hadn't been looking at him while he was basically ogling her. He shook all those terrible thoughts from his head and focused on the main task at hand. Remembering his name. He racked his brain, brows furrowed and a deep frown set on his face. Pikachu looked up at him with a curious expression.

"Pikapi?" he asked. Then it hit him.

"It's Ash!" he exclaimed, startling the girl out of her stare at the calming waters. She regarded him with a blank stare before she beamed, holding out her small hand for him to shake. He looked at it warily.

"Nice to meet you Ash." He took her hand and immediately felt a jolt of a nervous yet exciting emotion course through him. He smiled back, somewhat gaining some of his lost common sense back.

'_What is this weird feeling?'_

To be continued.

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**A/N: **Ok so you're probably wondering just what in the world possessed me to do something like publish a story. Well I've been possessed by my inner drive to succeed and I sound really corny right now. But that's not the point. Point is this story has been burning a hole in my laptop for the past year and it is about time I publish it.

So let's cover some ground, shall we? Ash is returning to the Hoenn region. He's never met May but he has been with Misty, Dawn, and Iris as well as any other future travelling partner that we don't know about. The journey only gets better from here. Stick with me! I would like to update every Friday but I'm not going to promise anything.

Thanks so much for reading, now go ahead and drop a review. It's so easy now! Haha but seriously, I'd like some feedback. See you in chapter 2!

Krystal


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: AU. He came looking for something that most people don't find. Instead he met her, a girl with endless curiosity. Together they set off looking for love in all the wrong places.

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"_I don't think you understand."_

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**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

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"_What's there to understand?"_

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Ash hadn't quite recovered from his stupor as he still continued to shake the young girl's hand. But she didn't seem to mind, merely staring at him blankly kind of mimicking his expression. He was knocked out of his trance when his ever faithful companion tugged on his pant leg roughly. Ash shook his head and switched his gaze around and noticed that he was still in the clearing.

"Not to say that you don't have nice hands, but…" the girl before him muttered.

"H-huh? Oh right," he quickly retracted his large hand, feeling oddly warm in the face. He placed his hands on his face, confused. His face felt flushed and hot. "Why's my face hot?"

"Are you sick?" May approached him. She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. He froze and stared at her with a surprised expression. She was so close to him he could feel her breath tickle his face ever so slightly. "You don't look pale. But…" she paused, grabbing his tan cheeks with her hands, bringing her face even closer.

"You have really weird marks on your cheeks. Are they tattoos or…" her voice trailed off.

"They're actually birthmarks." He informed her with a small smile. She narrowed her eyes a bit before she shrugged and let her hands fall to her sides and suddenly Ash felt the warmth leave him. He gulped nervously and chewed on his bottom lip to possibly curve his anxiety. It wasn't working out well.

"I have one of those too, but you can't see it." She explained in a teasing manner as she quickly turned around and looked at him over her bare shoulder. Wait…bare shoulder? It was then that he eyed her attire. She wore a white halter top and short jean shorts that were slightly distressed with white and black trainers. Her chestnut hair was down and slightly curly.

"Oh? How come?" he asked curiously. The boy obviously had no idea what he was getting himself into otherwise he would've avoided the subject all together.

"Because it's right here!" she giggled, pointing to her left pocket, indicating the skin beneath her clothing. He averted his gaze downward to where she was pointing and once again felt his face get hot. He sighed and fanned himself.

"Why's it so hot?" he asking, questioning no one in particular. May merely laughed and sat down in front of the pond.

"You're weird." She commented, spreading her legs out in order to stretch. Pikachu tilted his head to the side, gazing at the strange female. In matter of minutes she had effortlessly reduced his trainer to nothing more than a bumbling idiot just by smiling and touching him. He stared up at the boy in question to see him still waving his hand up and down and pulling at his shirt collar. He sighed and crawled over to the girl.

"Pika?" he asked. May looked at him with curious eyes before smiling.

"Wow, it's been awhile since I've seen a Pikachu. They're not all that common here in Hoenn." She explained as she slowly extended her hand to scratch him behind his left ear. He cooed softly and leaned into her soft touch. Ash paused in his fanning to notice that his starter was falling and falling fast for her womanly charm.

"You already found his scratch spot? Heh, it took me like six months to get it right." He commented, crouching down before her. She shrugged and removed her hand only for the small rodent to frown and crawl into her lap where he curled up against her stomach. Her eyes widened in shock but she eventually smiled, enjoying his small body heat. "He likes you a lot."

"Oh? I thought he climbed into everyone's lap. Go figure." She shrugged, staring out at the scenery in front of her. "So what are you doing out here, anyway?"

"Huh? Oh, I was looking for Professor Birch." He admitted. For a second he nearly forgot his purpose for being here. "I just wanted to stop by and hi but he wasn't at the lab."

"I see. Well, I don't know where the professor is. Have you been to Hoenn before?" she asked. He nodded with a smile.

"A couple years ago. I took the league challenge and moved on. But I came back for other reasons." He explained, scratching the back of his head. May eyed him strangely before she brought her hand up and poked him in the middle of his forehead. Surprised, Ash jumped back and landed on his bottom. He looked at her with surprised eyes while her expression remained the same as she lowered her hand.

"For other reasons, huh? Did you forget something? Or maybe you just like the scenery. You could also be taking a vacation or trying to get away from something or possibly someone. There's a lot of-"

"Do you want to travel with me?" he interrupted her rant with a question. "Er wait! I…um…I mean it's just…ah…" he was at a loss for words, especially when he stared at her full on.

"Travel? Like through Hoenn?" he nodded, a blush painted across his cheeks. "What for?"

"Huh? Well, I have to find love." He admitted shamelessly. May arched an eyebrow at him, opting to scratch behind Pikachu's ear as they conversed.

"You _have_ to find love? I've never heard that one before." She chuckled.

"Hey, don't make fun of what I'm doing." He snapped at her slightly.

"I'm not. It's just interesting." She shrugged. "You think you'll be able to find love here in Hoenn?"

"Why not?" he asked, confused.

"Why not?" she repeated his question. "Love is…it's not something you look for, it kind of comes to you over time, you know?" she said as she smiled and stared up at the sky.

"So…?" he asked, not following where she was going with this.

"I don't think you understand what love is exactly." She sighed, carrying the small mouse pokémon in her arms as she stood. He stood as well.

"What's there to understand? The way I see it, I just need to find a girl that makes me happy right?" he asked, following her as she began walking away.

"It's a bit more complex than that, I'm afraid." She started. "It wouldn't be fair if you were the only one happy so you also have to make her happy as well. Besides that, making each other happy isn't only what love is. If that were the case then you might as well call people who are friend's lovers since they make each other happy too."

"I guess so…" he admitted, looking to the side. May turned to him with a smile playing on her features as she stopped walking. He stopped before her with a confused look on his face.

"You seem like you don't know where to start, so I'll go with you." She agreed. He broke out in a grin at her declaration.

"You will? Awesome, thanks May. I appreciate it." She smiled back and preceded to hand him back his pokemon. They continued to walk the rest of the way in silence. Occasionally, May would skip ahead and just dance. Ash watched from the sides as he admired her lithe movements and the content expression on her face.

"Hey," she called from ahead of him. He regarded her with a questioning gaze, beckoning her to continue.

"Let's stop in Oldale Town." She called. He nodded, his hands stuffed in his pockets. She nodded as well and stopped the dancing momentarily and just walked with her hands placed thoughtfully behind her back.

They entered the small town and headed for the Pokemon center just as the sun was beginning to set. Ash handed over Pikachu for a quick check up while May stood idly off to the side. Unbeknownst to her, she was gaining a lot of attention from random trainers inside the center.

"Hey is that…"

"And with her is…!"

"No way, when'd they hook up…?"

Ash left the counter with their room key in his hands. He turned to his companion who was leaning on the counter drawing invisible circles on the counter top with her index finger while she head rested in her palm. He paused for a moment and looked about the lobby only to find that everyone was staring at them and whispering.

"Hm?" he questioned. Apparently they noticed him staring and quickly cut the conversations, returning to what they were previously doing. He sighed but jumped at the sound of a low rumbling. He turned to his new companion to see her clutching her stomach with a blush adorning her peachy face.

"Can we eat?" she asked sheepishly. He smiled and nodded as they made their way to the cafeteria. They quickly got their food and picked a nice booth with a window view. Ash got himself situated and handed Pikachu his ever sought after bottle of ketchup.

May looked at their closeness and smiled as she ate. It had been awhile since she dined at a pokémon center, let alone travelled with another person. She contemplated this new adventure as she stared out the window with a thoughtful expression.

"So May," Ash began. "Are you a trainer?" he asked, scooping up some rice and chewing it slowly. She nodded mutely and silently asked him the same thing. At her answer he beamed slightly.

"Yeah I am too. So you have all eight Hoenn badges too?" she nodded. "That's cool. Have you been to any other regions?" once again she nodded. Ash found it strange that she wasn't talking. He fell back against his seat and stared out the window and began to wonder.

Could this quest be considered noble? May agreed to help him so it couldn't be all that bad since she seemed like a fairly decent person to be around. But it was just like him to ask someone to travel with him despite the fact that he had only known her for less than an hour. He laughed and shook his head and stared at his brunette companion once more. But the sight before him?

Downright scary.

"M-may?" he called cautiously. Instead of eating calmly and quietly like she had been previously, she opted to bring her plate closer to her face and shovel spoonful after spoonful into her mouth until the plate was completely clean. She then took her water and quickly downed that before sitting it down on the table and exhaling deeply.

In his shock, Ash dropped his spoon having it result in a loud clatter but he didn't seem to notice. May took a napkin and wiped her mouth daintily before looking up at his wide-eyed expression.

"Something wrong?" she asked innocently. He gulped and looked down. This girl was full of surprises. He laughed to himself. She clasped her hands together and set her head atop them as she waited for him to finish his meal.

"You know, I'm not just a trainer." She started. He looked up, beckoning her to continue with his eyes. She nodded. "I'm more of a coordinator. When I travel, if I pass a town that has a gym, I like to battle the leader to get the badge to improve my pokémon's reflexes and battle skills. Then I compete in contests to improve showmanship and performance skills."

"Contests huh? Wow, I've only ever heard of couple people doing that. So wait, do you compete in the league or the Grand Festival?" he asked.

"It depends on the mood I'm in." she shrugged.

"That's pretty amazing." He agreed with a nod. She regarded him with a blank stare.

"You think so? Most people consider it a waste of time." She stated. He gaped.

"A waste of time? No way! That's quality time with your pokémon improving their skills and relationship with you and the people you battle. If anything people should do both since they're so fun!" he exclaimed. This time it was May's turn to stare at him with a surprised expression. He sank back into his seat, satisfied with his response.

"You know what Ash," she started. He looked up only for her to poke him in the forehead again with an amused look on her face. "I like you."

"Y-yeah," he laughed uneasily and rubbed the spot where she struck him with her index finger. For some reason it was tingling lightly like he had been shocked or something.

"I like you too."

To be continued.

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**A/N**: Ok so you're probably wondering why you're getting an update and it's not Friday. Well it's like this, I'm a big fat liar and I couldn't wait. I know, how shameless of me. I am now prepared for any punishment you may have in store for me. Kidding!

Let's see what happened! Ash invites May to travel with him and aid him in his quest for love! May agrees, seeing as our ever faithful hero looks as if he has no idea what he's doing! How many of you thought it would play out this way? Hmm, I wonder…anywho!

Thanks goes out to: **Advanced Faith, Lady Lauren, anagh.k1, The Snivster, The Shiny Gengar, Name Under Construction, **and **any anonymous reviewers!**

Moving on, next chapter we'll see where their first stop is on their journey of love! Who will they meet? What will they do? How will they do it? So many questions! Am I able to answer any of them? I am, but I'm not telling! See you in chapter three!

Krystal


	3. Chapter 3

"_What do you like in a girl?"_

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**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

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"_Lots of things."_

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_Chapter three_

Ash awoke the next morning to find himself staring up at the blank ceiling inside of the pokémon center that he and May stayed at that night. Pikachu was resting peacefully on his stomach with a content look on his face. He sat up to the sound of running water and his eyes travelled to the bathroom door where he assumed May was since her bed was empty. He fell back on the blankets and yawned softly before he turned and faced the wall.

"Good morning Ash." She called as she entered the room. He looked over his shoulder to see her tugging on the sheets in order to fix the bed.

"Morning." He replied as he shook the electric type awake who, in turn, stretched out its small body and hopped onto the floor and scratched its ear. May looked down and smiled at him before returning to her current task.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked as he got out his own bed. She turned to him then looked at the ceiling with a blank expression.

"About three hours." She shrugged.

"Three hours?" he asked with a surprised expression. She nodded and tucked the sheets in before she placed the pillow at the top and plopped down on the soft mattress adorned in a loose fitting light blue tee and grey sweats. "Why so early?"

"I don't sleep all that well." She replied with a distant look. He merely stared before he making his way to the bathroom where he shut the door behind him. He clutched the sides of the sink in his hands as he stared in the mirror at his seventeen year old self. He sighed and turned the water on before gathering up some in his hands and splashing it on his face. He grabbed a hand towel and wiped his dripping visage before taking care of other bodily needs.

Once he stepped out of the bathroom, May was fully clothed and tying her shoes. She looked up at him with a small smile before she stood and walked to the door, her hand grasping the knob. He turned to look at her with his towel draped over his shoulders. She smiled again and stepped outside, closing it behind her. He watched her leave, nearly making a move to follow her but deciding against it seeing as he was still in his boxers and a t-shirt.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu tilted his head to the side and hopped onto his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Ash asked as he turned to his companion and scratched under his chin absently. The rodent leaned into his touch and cooed softly. Ash smiled in response and sighed as he got ready for the day. Before leaving home, he packed an entirely new set of clothing. He figured it was a sign of growing up, something that his mom didn't take all that well.

His shirts were black with a large color strip across the chest, mostly reds and greys in various shades. For pants he wore dark, slim fitting jeans. He also wore black trainers to finish it off. Lastly, there was no hat to conceal his ever unruly hair, something he wasn't totally against until the sun got too bright for comfort.

With his backpack strapped on, he made his way to the lobby to see if May was there. Sure enough, the lively brunette was carrying a nice, quiet conversation with the resident Nurse Joy. They seemed to be familiar with each other. Ash stood off to the side, glancing at the two every now and then, curiously.

"Yes, I'll be sure to let him know. You know how Max is these days. Mom's just glad she got him stay home an extra three weeks. If it were up to him, he'd probably be in Kanto by now." May said with her elbows resting flat against the counter top.

"He was always eager." The nurse nodded in response. May merely smiled until she finally caught notice of Ash standing in the lobby with a content expression on his face. With that, she bid the nurse farewell before walking over to the idle trainer. He took note of her approaching figure and nodded. Ash noticed that she was now wearing a belt equipped with six miniature pokéballs as well as a red fanny pack.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to stay for breakfast so I picked up some snacks for the road in case you wanted to just go." She explained, pointing to a pocket on her pack.

"All right then. Let's go." He grinned and led the way to the outside world.

"So Ash," May began as she munched silently on her fifth cereal bar. "What kind of love are you looking for?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, obviously not understanding the question.

"Well, are you hetero or homo?" she asked, not avoiding the question at all. His tan cheeks immediately turned two shades red.

"H-hetero!" he stammered. May nodded and wiped her hands clean of any and all crumbs that had accumulated. Ash gazed at her warily, waiting for her next out of blue question to pop out.

"I see. Now, you said that you want to fall in love. Do you want to also receive love?" she asked once more.

"Well yeah, I mean what's the point of being in love if the other person doesn't feel the same?" he asked.

"That's a good question, but a lot of people can't avoid unrequited love. Sometimes it just happens." She shrugged. He didn't understand it fully.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Like falling in love with a married person. While it's a tad immoral, it does tend to happen nowadays. And if that person is loyal to their partner then there's really nothing you can do but live through your one-sided love. Besides, who wants to say that they broke up a happily married couple? It sounds a little wrong to me."

"Hmm…that makes sense." He said. May smiled and punched him in the arm lightly.

"Don't go around breaking up people's relationships, ok?" she winked at him. Ash nodded dumbly and watched her as she skipped ahead up the hill that was approaching them. If he remembered correctly, Petalburg should be pretty close. He smiled to himself, looking up at the cloudless Hoenn sky. She paused at the top and seemed to be looking down, her hand horizontal to her forehead.

She turned back to him with a mischievous glint in her blue eyes.

"Let's race." She suggested. Ash's competitive instinct kicked in as he quickly walked up to where she was standing and accepted her challenge. The wind picked up a little before they both shot down the incline, arms swishing, legs pumping, and faces beaming. It was only a matter of minutes before they got to the bottom of the hill where their speed decreased. Ash was staring straight ahead, ignoring the light tugs he was feeling from Pikachu holding onto his hair.

"Ah!" he heard a light shriek and the sound the ground scuffing from behind him. Soon the sound of light giggles found its way to his ears as well. He paused in his mad dash to see his opponent flat on her back with her chest moving up and down due to laughter.

"Hey, are you all right?" Ash back tracked to where the girl was and crouched down before her with worry etched all over his face. Her laughter turned faint as she wiped fake tears from her eyes and sighed contently.

"Yeah, I'm just a little clumsy." She grinned, scratching her cheeks bashfully. He smiled back and stood, extending a hand for her to take. She gladly accepted and placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her up from the ground. She dusted herself off and stared at him silently. He regarded her strangely before his eyes caught a faint trail of red travelling down her left leg.

"Wait, you're bleeding!" he exclaimed, crouching down again, this time removing his pack and rummaging through it quickly.

"Hmm…I guess I am." She noted as she took a glance at her leg to see a nasty gash with specks of dirt surrounding it. Ash gestured for her to sit down while he pulled out disinfectant and a band-aid, courtesy of his old pal Brock. She winced once he sprayed on the disinfectant and cleaned it up before placing the band-aid on. "Thanks."

"Y-yeah, it's no problem." He stammered with a light blush on his cheeks. Again, he offered his hand which she gladly she took. Once they were both on their feet, they resorted to walking the rest of the way into town.

"You've already battled the gym leader here, right?" May asked as she stared up at the sky.

"Yeah, a couple of years ago. He was pretty tough, actually." He commented as he thought of the battle. She looked at him and smiled.

"Well, would you like to battle him again?" He looked at her strangely then nodded vigorously.

"Sure but he's probably busy what with the league going on and all." She giggled into her hand and gained his attention, him staring at her with a confused look.

"It's no problem, I'm sure he'd battle you if you asked him." She said. Ash narrowed his eyes at her, noticing the mischievous glint in her eyes. He shrugged and allowed her to lead him to the center of town where he remembered the gym to be.

"So Ash, what do you like in a girl?" she asked out of the blue. He pondered her question with a thoughtful hand on his chin as he stared ahead. Pikachu patted him on the head gently, also awaiting his answer.

"Well, lots of things." He replied, not really sure where she was going with this.

"Like?" she encouraged.

"I don't know. I guess I'd like her to be a trainer." He said with a shrug.

"We'll have to figure out what your ideal girl is then. Oh look! It's the gym, come on!" she urged him as she sprinted forward towards a large building. He followed her, taking in the renovations that had been added since his last time in the city. Soon they were in front of the glass doors where May easily stepped inside, not waiting on him at all.

"Ah, I see you're back from Littleroot May." A voice commented as soon as he entered. His eyes widened a bit to see May talking to who he remembered was Norman, the Petalburg gym leader. The intimidating man looked down at the girl with a fond expression as she told about her recent visit.

"Yeah I just got here. I met someone along the way. But I'm sure you've met him through a battle or something." She said, referring to Ash behind her. The man looked up from the girl and eyed the young man who stared at him with a familiar expression.

"Ash? My, it's been quite some time." Norman grinned and extended his hand out to the raven-haired boy. Ash shook it firmly before he grinned.

"It has. The gym doesn't seem like it's changed all that much though." He commented. "So how do you know May?" he asked, confused. May just gave him a blank stare while Norman chuckled lightly.

"So you didn't tell him, either?" the man asked the girl. She shrugged.

"It didn't seem like it mattered." He sighed and wrapped an arm around her petite shoulders. Ash looked at the two strangely before Norman spoke up.

"May's my daughter." He explained with a now serious expression. May just looked on with indifference as if she didn't care. Ash looked surprised at the revelation.

"Daughter? I thought you only had a son." Ash said, remembering the young boy he encountered on his first visit. Norman sighed.

"Well, when you came May had already left to start her travels and I guess we forgot to mention her." She sighed and began playing with her hair.

"So, are you two travelling together?" Norman asked as he led to the two out of the gym and towards the house. Ash nodded while eyeing May who seemed very aloof. He wondered what triggered the sudden mood changes with her. Sometimes she'd be carefree, other times she'd been indifferent.

"That's nice. May's only travelled with one other person. By the way, how is Brendan?" her father asked. May visibly froze and looked up at her father with a strange glint in her eyes.

"He wasn't at the lab when I stopped by. I guess he's all right." She shrugged. "I might call him today…" at that, Ash suddenly felt left out. Clutching the part of his chest where his heart would be, he looked down, obviously not understanding what was going on.

"Well let's head over to the house. I can close the gym early due to our guest." Norman beamed as he led both teens out of the gym and back into the early afternoon. May sighed beside her father and tried to worm her way out of his insistent and overbearing grip. "Now, now May. You know resistance is futile."

"Hmph," she huffed giving up. Ash looked over from his spot to see her pouting expression. His back went stiff as he refocused his attention on walking without tripping over his own two feet. Her face reminded him of an angry Jigglypuff, a face he had seen all too often. Threatening, but still cute at the same time. He felt his face gain that familiar heat he had experienced almost all day yesterday. He sighed and shook his head as they entered the Maple residence.

"I'm back!" The normal type gym leader called throughout his humble abode. Caroline, his wife of eighteen years, came around the corner with a damp blue dish towel in her hands. She beamed at her husband who was standing at the door with two teens at his sides.

"Welcome home honey. Oh! I see you found May. And this is-" she stopped in mid sentenced once her lilac colored eyes fell on the tanned boy whom she vaguely recognized. She scrunched her eyes and racked her brain to figure out just who he was.

"Remember Ash from all those years ago?" Norman asked as he removed his arms from their shoulders. May rubbed hers where his arm had roughly rested down on it. "This is him now."

"Ash? Ah yes! I remember now. It's nice to see you again Ash. My, you've grown into the quite the handsome young man. Don't you think so honey?" she asked, referring to her husband who wore a smug look.

"Mhmm. Reminds me of myself in my younger days." He replied with a thoughtful hand rubbing his chin. May sighed and stole a glance at Ash who seemed to be uncomfortable with their talk and was scratching behind his head nervously.

"Just think, if May had waited a couple more days before she started her journey, you two would've probably met each." Caroline beamed with her hands clasps together in a dreamlike state. May deadpanned.

"Funny you mentioned that. See-"

"Well look who's back from visiting the in-laws." A slightly deep voice called from behind the two parents. Descending the stairwell was a young boy around the age of thirteen. He had short black hair with glasses and brown eyes. May narrowed her eyes at the boy who stood, now, eye to eye with her.

"Max," she acknowledged him curtly.

"Hn. Seems like those visits keep getting longer and longer, huh? And who's this? The other m-" finally able to get a close look, the younger boy's jaw dropped considerably.

"A-ash? Ash Ketchum! Hey!" his entire demeanor changed at the sight of his idol, second only to his father of course. Ash beamed as he looked down on the boy.

"It's been awhile, Max." Ash grinned.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu added. May crossed her arms over her chest and began walking away from the scene. Caroline noticed and followed her daughter into the kitchen.

"May?" her mother called. " Are you alright?"

"Yeah. It's just a little weird that you all seem to be so friendly with him and I know nothing about him." She shrugged as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and began sipping on it.

"Well, he is sort of a celebrity know you." Caroline shrugged.

"He is?" May asked, surprised.

"Yes. We don't hear a lot about what happens in Kanto, but he's the new champion. Or he would've been had he accepted the title." She explained.

"Hmm," she muttered to herself.

"It's makes me wonder what he's doing back in Hoenn, though. Maybe he's going to reenter the league."

"Maybe…" May added as she twisted the cap of the bottle back on.

'_It's a completely different league this time around.'_

To Be Continued…

* * *

**A/N**: End of chapter three! Was it everything you thought it would be and more? I sure do hope so. I thought this was a nice chapter filled with bits of plot bunnies to get your brains moving.

So let's see May suffers from slight insomnia. Wonder why…hmm. She becomes indifferent around her family, can you smell tension? Hmm, maybe? Yes? No? And the Maple family is almost mesmerized by our dear Ashy-poo. He left quite an impression huh? And what's this? A bit of Hoennshipping? Oh no! The antagonist shipping appears! Gasp!

Thanks goes to: **Lady Lauren, mitzykitty, Name Under Construction, SIMO9D,** and** nascaramp88. **I know feedback starts off small but I have faith in this story and in its readers. So thank for all of your support this early on in the game.

Next chapter will be out next Friday I promise! And if it's not, well you can think some really awful thoughts about me and I'll tell you whether my sixth sense starts acting up ok? See you in chapter four!

Krystal

P.S.- I was totally kidding about the sixth sense thing :p


	4. Chapter 4

"_Your idea of the perfect date?"_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

* * *

"_An epic pokémon battle."_

* * *

_Chapter 4_

May fidgeted uncomfortably between her new travelling companion and her annoying younger sibling as the family sat down to dinner after much catching up between her family and the raven-haired boy. Just looking at him, she would've never thought he left such an impression on her parents. Her brother was easy to fool though, him being as naïve as ever. She sighed and picked at her food, her appetite suddenly gone. It was only a matter of time before the conversation was directed towards her.

"So wait, May didn't tell you anything about us? Or even herself?" Max questioned Ash. Ash swallowed a carrot before answering.

"Uhm, we didn't have that much time to really get to know each other…" he commented, uncomfortable with their stares.

"That is true, but May's not all that open with other people. She usually keeps to herself." Caroline said. May just stared as they continued to talk.

"Now, now May's social enough from time to time. I think it's good that she doesn't tell all her secrets. It gives her a certain mysterious edge." Norman retorted.

"I think it only makes her seem weird." Max shrugged, as he finished off his vegetables.

"Max! Don't say things like that!" Caroline scolded the boy. Ash gazed at the family in awe as they continued to talk about the eldest daughter as if she weren't sitting among them. May just ate silently as they conversed, not seeming to care that the dialogue was centered on her. Once she was finished, she scooted out of her chair and grabbed her plate.

"I can do the dishes." She called.

"Oh, thank you honey." May gave a slight smile and moved to take everyone's plate.

"I'll help." Ash shot up. All eyes were on him as he made a move to assist the girl who looked surprised by his proposal.

"We couldn't let you do the dishes Ash, you're a guest." Caroline protested.

"Heh, he's practically a part of the family. Let him do it." Norman waved it off. Ash grinned as he helped May pick up plates and silverware, ignoring the 'part of the family' comment. They soon entered the kitchen where May began to run the water, filling it with dish soap.

"Wash and rinse or dry and stack?" she asked, referring to the different tasks.

"I guess I'll dry and stack." He replied. She tossed a dry white towel his way and began dumping plate after fork into the sink. There was an awkward silence that hung in the air, the only sounds being the running faucet and the swishing water.

"Is your family always like that?"

"For the most part. I've learned to tune them out though. You gotta love them." She smiled sadly at the soapy water and began her chore.

"Doing things like washing the dishes helps me keep my mind off it. Sometimes they say things without thinking. My dad is probably the most reasonable out of the three."

"I like your family. I kind of see you guys as the ideal type of family. You know, a mom and a dad with two kids. Kind of living a regular lifestyle." He commented with a content expression. May passed him the first dish with a contemplative look in her eyes.

"If you say so." She resumed her washing and rinsing as he continued the drying and stacking. It went on like that until May unplugged the drain and dried off her hands on the towel. Ash followed her lead and folded his drying towel before placing it on the counter.

"Oh Ash, I prepared the guest bed for you on the first floor. It's the last door down this hall whenever you're ready to hit the sack." Caroline informed him as he was making his way up the stairs like May was doing.

"Thanks Caroline." He sent her a quick nod before going up the rest of the stairs. The house was familiar to him for the most part. Although he didn't remember ever being upstairs before. He assumed this was where May and Max's rooms were. As they walked down the hall, May stopped in front of the first door on the left and turned the knob. He didn't know what to expect when she opened the door. Maybe all pink?

'_Well, she is a girl…'_ he thought to himself. _'But she doesn't seem girly at all…'_

"Hmm, what's with that look on your face?" she asked while stepping inside. He snapped out of his deep train of thought and just laughed nervously. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and dashed for the bed centered in the middle of the room.

"Well he certainly knows how to make himself right at home."

"Yeah, that's Pikachu for ya," Ash laughed lightly. Surprisingly, her room didn't meet his expectations at all. The walls were a nice cream color and the main color was red. She had a bed, a bookshelf, a computer desk with an up to date computer and a decent sized TV sitting on a stand.

"So let's get started, shall we?" May plopped down next to the electric type with paper and pencil that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Ash looked at her strangely, opting to sit on the floor.

"Start what?" he asked. He let his legs spread out before him as she scribbled down something on the paper and looked down on him with curiosity.

"Huh? We have to find out what your ideal girlfriend is, right? I told you I'd help you." She replied with a satisfied smile on her face. Ash looked surprised by her answer, seeing her dedication. An air of determination washed over him and he nodded sternly. May noticed the sudden change in his mood and breathed out a sigh of relief. "First of all, what are other things you like in a girl besides her being a trainer?"

"Hmm…well I guess I want her to be kind of pretty…" he said with a lost expression on his face.

"Hm? Don't tell me you're a little shallow." May gave him a tiny glare.

"Huh? I-I'm not! It's…well…looks matter don't they?" he asked, scratching his head. May scribbled down his answer and shook her head.

"And who told you you're a chick magnet, huh?" she asked, suddenly amused by the current topic. She didn't expect him to answer honestly, though.

"No one. But I've always travelled with a female, except for the first time I was in Hoenn back when I met your family. Maybe if we had met back then we probably would've ended up travelling together, huh?" he said as he rested his back on the foot on the floor. May looked down on him silently as she considered his words.

"Yeah, maybe…" she muttered. "So she has to be pretty, huh? What else?"

"What else matters?" he asked. It was obvious from the first moment she met him that Ash was completely clueless in the ways of love when it concerned people. She couldn't believe someone his age was as deprived as he was. Sighing, she slid off the bed to sit next to him.

"Practically everything matters when selecting the perfect mate. As bad as it sounds, people do tend to base their selection off of appearance. You know, pretty face, nice body, good hair, those types of things. They go off what they see on the surface and hardly what's beneath it." She explained.

"I get what you're saying. But then that method's kind of flawed, don't you think?" he questioned her. Wanting to edge him on, she feigned confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, just liking someone because they look nice is just like eating food because it looks good. Like…like…" he was at a loss for words.

"A tamato berry!" May suddenly piped up. Ash looked at her before considering her answer.

"Yeah! It looks okay before you eat it but one bite and everything's on fire!" Ash twisted his face, recalling his many bouts with the spicy fruit.

"So looks can be deceiving. We'll take that into account. What about character traits?" she asked. He grew silent after that question. She brought her knees up to her chest and began tapping the pen against her cheek before he turned to face her, completely serious.

"She…I want some who's honest, and has a love for pokémon like I do. Someone I can trust and she—I want her to be kind of funny. She has to be uh independent I guess…but someone I can, I don't know, be there for? Yeah…" he finished with a content look.

"That part seemed easier for you than the others." She commented.

"I think I just described my mother." He admitted sheepishly. May giggled into her palm.

"That's fine. Men do have the tendency to gravitate toward women who remind them of their mother's. If they had decent ones, that is." May looked over her list, and then passed it to Ash who seemed to agree with the things she jotted down. He nodded and passed it back to her. May smiled and stood up from the floor, stretching her body. She walked over to the computer desk where she sat the paper and pen down and stared out the window.

Ash remained on the floor, locked in his own thoughts. The previous conversation that took place at the table and when he first arrived suddenly popped into his mind. May's reaction to the talks didn't really ease his inner musings.

"Who's Brendan?" he asked right out of the blue. Her shoulders tensed at his question as she half turned to face him. She gave a soft hum before sighing and leaning against the window.

"Brendan is…well a good friend of mine." Her face softened at the sound of his name, Ash noticed. "But my parents and Max keep insisting that it's something more than that."

She laughed at that sentence and took her spot next to the pokémon trainer, lying down as well. He regarded her with silence as they lay almost shoulder to shoulder.

"Why would they think that?" he asked.

"They've always taken things way out of proportion. Brendan agreeing to travel with me was the equivalent to a marriage proposal to them. Never mind I was ten and he was eleven at the time." She smiled at a memory replaying in her head.

"So tell me about these other girls that you travelled with. How come you're not with one of them?"

"I tried. One of them, Misty, said I was 'undateable'. Something about I hadn't reached some level to start dating her. I didn't really get it. And Dawn, the other girl, didn't understand where I was coming from. At least that's what I think anyway. Besides that, I've been with them for so long that just thinking about it seems…"

"Awkward?" she answered for him.

"Yeah! It just seems really awkward." The atmosphere became oddly silent at the conclusion of their conversation. Then May just started laughing out of nowhere. Ash gave her a confused glance before he too erupted into a fit of chuckles. Well, laughter is quite contagious after all.

Their sheer enjoyment reached the ears of the other patrons within the household. Max just rolled his eyes as he continued to count the inventory of his potions, pokéballs, preparing to set off for his next region.

* * *

Caroline looked on warily and Norman grinned to himself, enjoying the sounds of his daughter's faint laughter. It had been such a long time since he had heard her laugh and he found it to be quite refreshing. Biting her lip, Caroline tapped her husband on the shoulder with concern growing on her features.

"Norman, don't you think-"

"Now Caroline, they're just laughing and having a good time. Besides that, Ash is a good kid and May is our daughter. I doubt anything serious is going on between them. They just met." He tried to reassure her.

"I know, I know. I'm just thinking about her and Brendan. This could cause a problem." She brought her hand up to her lips, reviving a long dead habit.

"What could cause a problem? Nothing's going on between them anyway. You're looking at things the wrong way again." He sighed and made his way to the bookshelf. He himself enjoyed reading and had employed the same hobby within his children, sitting an identical bookshelf in each of their rooms.

"I don't see how there couldn't be anything going on between them. I mean, have you seen the way he looks at her?" she retorted with her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest. Norman scoffed.

"And have you seen the way she looks at him? Caroline, May is as dense as a doorknob and wouldn't know until the last minute if someone loved her or not. She's got too many other thoughts running through that mind of hers to be concerned about something like that at this point." He explained.

"Hmph," she huffed.

"And she's just like you. How long did it take you to figure out my feelings?" he teased with a wide grin.

"Should it matter? We're married, aren't we?" she replied, smugly.

"There you have it. Nothing to worry about." With another smile, he picked a book and nestled himself into his recliner, reading silently to himself. Caroline sighed and took a heavy seat on the bed, contemplating her husband's words. She almost felt ashamed that he was more aware of the situation than she was.

'_But he's always been a hopeless romantic…'_ she smiled to herself as she eyed the tattered copy of yet another Nora Roberts novel clutched tightly in his hands.

* * *

"Oh yeah! What kind of pokémon do you have?" Ash asked, as if he had been saving the question for the right moment. May eyed him silently as she looked down at her fully equipped belt, picking up one of the miniaturized balls in her hand.

"You want to see?" she asked. He nodded vigorously like a child on Christmas. Smiling at his eagerness, she gestured for him to follow her outside, to which he happily obliged. They were just in the backyard, close to the gym. "I have more, but these are the ones I carry around most often. Come out guys!"

Six balls were thrust into the air, each a different color. A variety of pokémon from different regions materialized in front of the two trainers, leaving one of them astonished and other proud.

"Awesome, and you said you have more?" she nodded at his question. "I can't wait to meet them all." The first one he approached was a very large in stature pokémon with red, orange, and white feathers on its body. It had talon like hands and an intimidating face with surprising blue eyes.

"This is Blaziken, the finally evolution of Torchic, which was my starter pokemon. She's been with me since the beginning." May explained.

"Blaziken are really strong pokémon. I remember the first time I battled one." He replied. He then came upon the next one in her arsenal, almost the complete opposite of the fire type. Sitting before him was a blue fox that sat regally before him, giving off a chilling aura.

"This is Glaceon. While I was in Sinnoh, I visited Snowpoint City where a strange crystal is that allows Eevee to evolve. We had a long talk about which type she wanted to evolve into and ice was the one." He nodded and moved on to pokemon number three. It was familiarly large.

"No way! I have a Snorlax too!" he exclaimed with a grin.

"Heh, that's funny. I met this big guy back when he was a Munchlax. He ate my lunch so I caught him as payment for it. He's helped me in a lot of battles." Giving the glutton a nice pat on the stomach, Ash moved on. The next pokémon was a bug type with beautiful wings and bright blue eyes. It flew around Ash's head before landing on top of May's.

"Meet Beautifly, the first pokémon I ever caught. She was just a little Wurmple when we met, but she eventually evolved into quite the looker." May stated as she gave the bug type a love tap.

"Reminds me of my Butterfree." Ash looked on with a certain longing hidden in his brown eyes before he moved on. The second to the last one was yet another familiar face as it sat back silently on its back legs, gazing at the boy trainer blankly.

"I have a Bulbasaur too." He bent down to its eye level and extended his hand. In return, the grass type extended a vine and they greeted one another cordially.

"Oh?" May commented. "Hmm, well Bulbasaur decided to join up with me after I saved it from falling off a cliff. She never expressed the desire to evolve, so I never pushed the issue." He relished in the sight of this Bulbasaur and the unique spot on its head shaped like a heart. The last pokémon in her team left him completely astonished. Before him was a pokémon that was revered for its elegance, beauty, and power.

"Wow, what's this one?" he asked, turning back towards the girl. An uneasy smile fell across her face.

"This is Delcatty. Back when she was a Skitty she gave me the hardest time. Always getting ino trouble and making messes."

"Yeah? Sounds fun." Ash laughed.

"Fun...right. Her evolution was actually an accident. One day she was going through my bag and stumbled upon a Moon Stone. I was a little upset at first, I had big plans for that stone, but I got over it once I saw how happy she looked." she smiled, crouching to pet the feline.

"Seems like you've had a lot of different adventures, huh? That's so cool though. It's like every trainer's dream, to go out and catch pokémon, train them, and battle." He said as he looked up the sky.

"That's the life, huh?" she added. Ash scoffed lightly as he ran his fingers through his hair, catching May's attention.

"That's what I used to think until Misty told me otherwise. She said there was more to life than just training and battling. I didn't understand at the time, so I came here with a new goal, hoping I'd get what she was saying." He explained.

"She's right, you know? Though I'm not sure whether leading you in the direction of romance was the right way to go. But it's better late than never right?" May said as she returned each one of her pokémon and placed them back on her belt.

"I guess. What age do people usually fall in love?" he asked as they headed back in the direction of the house. The sun was just touching the horizon as they found seats on the back porch.

"There is no specific age. It just happens when it happens. And you'll know right away once you've fallen for someone too. But don't worry, Hoenn's a big place and you've got plenty of time to find the right girl." She beamed and patted him on the shoulder before swinging her legs freely and watching the sunset with the sound of native pokémon cooing faintly around them.

"Yeah. Plenty of time."

To Be Continued.

* * *

**A/N: **Ah! I'm so proud of myself right now. I finished this chapter all in one day. That last one took me a while. I like May's father in this story and her mother too, as their roles are kind of switched. It's funny to see the strong Norman Maple as the hopeless romantic, reading Nora Roberts novels. I just couldn't help myself.

Then comes the bit of hoennshipping. It's nearly impossible to avoid the idea of Brendan and May knowing each other since she didn't meet Ash until now. And Caroline being the over protective mother that she is…let's just leave it at that. At this point, the Hoennshipping is onesided and the Advanceshipping is just friendship. That is all. Please do review and thank you for reading.

Krystal

P.S.-I will be needing female OC's for future chapters. Feel free to submit one! Just a name, quick description, pokémon team, etc. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

"_What about that girl over there?"_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

* * *

"_I thought you said you were hetero."_

* * *

_Chapter 5_

The eldest Maple child stared up at her father with curious and blank blue eyes as he waved two paper tickets in front of her face with boyish grin plastered on his own. Laughing haughtily, he wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulder and led her to the front door and away from the living area where they had been previously situated.

"This could be a new adventure for you May. Take advantage of it and have some fun. Who knows what'll happen?" he joked with her. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face as she accepted the tickets from her father and gazed at them, feigning excitement.

"I suppose you're right." She beamed. The tickets had a picture of a very fancy boat on them with a night landscape in the background. It was for a trip around Hoenn, starting just outside Petalburg and ending in Lilycove City while making a stop on Dewford Island and Slateport. "Maybe we'll see some new pokemon."

"Maybe. Just have fun and get out of this house. Go!" he pushed her out of the door with a laugh. "Bye!"

"Hmm," she grunted slightly as she turned around. Just meters away from the door sat Ash conversing with Pikachu who was munching on palette like pokemon food. She smiled at the sight as she skipped over to where they were.

"Hey,"

"Oh hi May. What'd Norman have to talk about?" he asked, Pikachu hopped back up to his respective place and stared at the girl silently.

"He gave me two tickets for a cruise around Hoenn. You interested?" she asked, holding up the two passes.

"Cruise? Sure! Sounds like a lot of fun!" he exclaimed. She was slightly taken aback by his eagerness but smiled nonetheless.

"Well," she started as she took a few steps forward. "Let's get going then."

Ash observed all the changes that Petalburg had undergone during his absence and found them to be quite nice. The pokemon center had been remodeled to a more modern style and he noticed that even the gym had been given some rendering. The traditional theme was still consistent but it now had automatic doors and things of that nature.

Just as they had reached the outskirts of the city, a loud beeping noise alerted the two trainers and electric type. May reached into a grey fanny pack strapped around her waist and fished out a yellow Pokémon Navigator. Ash had seen them before but not as up close. He, himself, only possessed the latest version of the pokegear. May pressed the button in the center and the device flipped open.

"_Hello? May, is that you?"_ a masculine voice answered. Ash watched as May's form stiffened before she answered.

"Yes, it's me. Hello Brendan." She greeted politely. Ash looked on awkwardly, not entirely sure what he should do in this situation.

'_So that's Brendan, huh? I wonder what kind of pokémon he has?'_ was the first question that came to his mind. He found himself unable to follow what the two of them were saying, not too keen on eavesdropping anyway. So he continued to look around the city. It seemed like a fairly decent place to live. In fact, he was very fond of the city back when he visited the first and second time. This being his third time.

"Well, we'll be stopping in Slateport if you really want to meet up sometime." May answered.

"_Cool. And are you sure that…this guy is trustworthy?"_ At his question, May looked shocked. She gazed over at Ash who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, Pikachu playing with his dark locks. She laughed off Brendan's caution and just smiled.

"Dad seems to trust him so I don't see anything wrong." She replied. Even through the small screen she could sense his uneasiness with the situation. Despite that, she kept on her smile, its genuineness fading with each passing second. "Don't worry about me, I'm a big girl remember?"

"_Heh, I suppose you're right. Have a safe trip. See you later."_ With that, the device made a clicking noise before returning to the main menu. May hummed about before closing it and placing it back into its designated pocket. She then turned to Ash who seemed to be in a deep conversation with Pikachu.

"Sorry about that." She interrupted lightly. Ash snapped out of his current mindset and regarded May with a toothy grin. He noticed a certain change in her demeanor the further they got away from the city. Slowly, she was turning back into the girl he first met.

"Don't sweat it. Did you have a nice talk?" he asked as they continued walking.

"Yes. He offered to meet up with us once we hit Slateport City. He's doing some research on the water pokemon that are native to that area." She explained. Ash seemed to be somewhat interested into what she was talking about, Brendan's exploits and all. "But enough about him. Let's see if we can introduce you to a few ladies on this trip, shall we?"

"Uh, sure. I mean that's what I came here to do, right?" he said, suddenly getting very excited. He hadn't been too sure about this type of journey straight from the get go, but meeting May kind of helped him come to terms with his goal. He only hoped she would serve to help him achieve said goal.

"Right. Have you ever been on cruise before?" she asked with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Not a cruise, but I've been on tons of boats. Heh, not the best experiences of my life, but I'm still here right?" he joked. May nodded along with him. Soon the dock was in their sights. There seemed to be a large mass of people, but the boat or ship, rather, was massive. May gazed at the tickets once more wondering how in the world her father managed to snag them.

"Wow, it sure looks fancy." Ash commented as they made a move to stand in the line that led to the ramp up to the boat. From the looks of it, there were mostly trainers with their pokemon who were in line and few regular people standing in between them. Nothing seemed suspicious at the moment. Still, May felt something amiss about her father handing over two obvious expensive cruise tickets.

"Hello. Welcome to Hoenn's 10th annual regional cruise tour. May I see your ticket's please?" a girl at the ramp asked. May relinquished the tickets to the girl and quickly scanned them with a handheld device, tore off a section at the bottom then handed them back.

"Thank you. Your room is on the south end lower level, number 15C. Please enjoy the cruise." She handed them two keys and they set off up the ramp. The dock was scarcely full of people and pokemon alike either at the railing, the bow, the main floor or coming up the ramp like them.

Just as they were about to make their way to the south end and voice called out to May. A voice that was too feminine to be male, yet it was the mistakably whiny characteristic to it that the naked ear couldn't hope to guess the gender just by listening. But May knew that voice all too well and had this been three years ago, she probably would've high tailed it right off the boat.

"Oh May darling, is that you?" the voice called. Feeling obliged, the brunette turned around along with her partner who looked absolutely confused. From a distance, it looked like a Cacturne was running towards them in a rather girly fashion. But at a closer glance, Ash could tell it was a person who had an obvious fascination with the pokemon instead.

"What the…" he whispered out. Pikachu, feeling his uneasiness, clutched his black hairs tightly as the figure came ever closer to where they were standing.

"Hello Harley," May greeted cordially with a polite smile.

"My it's been quite some time hasn't it?" Ash gazed upon the strange figure with secretly wide eyes as May conversed with…it(?) as if it were an everyday thing. Well she was quite the strange one every now and then.

"Ah it has. How have you been?" she asked.

"Marvelous, just simply marvelous. You know, my Banette did the strangest thing the other day…" Ash stopped paying attention as he started to look around the ship with a curious glance. As they turned away from the pair, the death grip Pikachu had on his master's locks began to loosen while the electric type sighed.

"Was…was that a girl?" Harley asked. Pikachu hopped on top of his skull to lean over and stare at him upside down with a deadpanned look. "What? It was just a question!"

"Pikapi…" he sighed. Ash blew up in his face for good measure.

In the midst of her striking conversation with Harley, May noticed Ash had left. She averted her gaze from the cactus clad boy to wherever her friend had wandered off too, irritating Harley in the process.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, you little twerp—er, I mean it's rude to ignore people you know." He quickly caught himself before May heard his little insult. She looked up at him with a sheepish expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I seem to have misplaced my friend." She admitted.

"The young man who was with you earlier? I see, he was quite good looking. Does little May have a new boy toy?" he teased with a poke of his elbow. May brushed him off nonchalantly.

"No, I'm helping him find love." She admitted.

"Really? Steer him in my direction then." He winked. May deadpanned before walking away.

"He's hetero." She replied. "See you around Harley."

"Aha ha! Of course." He waved animatedly before pulling out one of those indestructible tissues and biting the crap out of it. "Ugh! I can't stand that little—!"

May wandered around aimlessly searching for the raven haired boy and silently wondering why he took off without telling her where he was going. They were travelling together, weren't they? Travelling partners are supposed to tell each other where they're going right? Well, at least that's what she and Brendan had done.

'_He's no Brendan Birch, that's for sure…'_ May sighed as she decided to rest her back against the railing of the boat and let the sound of the ocean lull her as the boat rocked slowly against the docks. She hadn't been on a boat since she came back from Johto all those months ago.

She opened her eyes to see the sun was now high in the sky, meaning it was probably around noon. The boat was scheduled to leave at 12:30 if she read her ticket correctly.

"May!" she heard a voice yell. She looked over to see Ash running towards her with two onigiri in his hands. "I found something for us to snack on." He smiled at her.

"Er, thanks. So that's where you were?" she asked, biting into the triangular snack. He nodded, mouth already full of rice. She smiled at the sight. "Hm…"

"Say, why didn't you introduce me to your friend May?" he asked.

"Well, you kind of disappeared before I had the chance to." She shrugged while leaving the railing with him following close behind. "But if it means that much to you I'll introduce you next time."

"Ok," he paused momentarily. "Is that person not a good match for me? Ouch, Pikachu chill out!" He winced at the pain of Pikachu pulling his hair wildly.

"Huh? I thought you said you were hetero?" she looked at him strangely.

"I-I am!" he quickly got defensive.

"Ash," she laughed into her hand, confusing him. "Harley's a guy."

"…"

"Ah you dropped your onigiri. I would give you mine but that's an indirect kiss."

After Ash got over the initial shock of Harley being a male, he and May decided to head over to their room. It was suite style equipped with a small kitchen, living area, and a master bathroom. Upon further inspection, May discovered that there was also a master bedroom to go with the bathroom. And with a master bedroom, came a master bed. Meaning a single, large bed meant for two people.

She mentally cursed herself.

"Hey Ash," she began. She decided to approach the situation delicately as not scare the boy off. But then again it would probably take a while for him to get a real grasp on their predicament.

"Hm?" he answered her call, joining her in the room.

"We may have a problem but it's all depending on your level of maturity." She said.

"Okay?" he didn't really follow what she was saying.

"There's only one bed."

"…Oh…" Oh. _Oh._ He blushed and scratched his cheek nervously. "Uh, well I think we'll be okay. I can take the couch."

Yes! That was exactly the answer she was looking for. Normally the guy would suggest they share the bed but promise to stay on their respective sides. May would then volunteer to take the couch or floor. Not to say that she was in this situation often.

"Hm. I don't see a problem with us sharing the bed, Ash. You seem to be a respectable young man so there shouldn't be an issue with us sleeping together." She replied. He looked surprised with her suggestion and smiled.

"Okay!" he beamed. At that moment, Pikachu arrived from the kitchen with a bottle of ketchup in his mouth as he moved to jump on the bed. The message he was sending was clearly obvious.

_'How about you two take the couch and I take the bed.'_ He grinned mischievously while flicking the top up.

"No way. We're all sleeping on the bed." Ash quickly shot the idea down, which caused May to laugh. The sound caught the boy's attention. He turned to look at her joyful expression and couldn't help the small smile that developed in response. "You have a nice laugh, May."

She froze.

"You think so?"

To Be Continued.

* * *

**A/N:** End of chapter 5! So what'd you guys think of Harley? He hasn't changed much in regards to May travelling with Ash now instead of later. I think introducing a character that would've been from both of their pasts kind of gives you a tiny bit of insight. Don't you agree?

Moving on, I hope I wasn't the other one who was ever confused about Harley's gender. I knew he was guy but he was just a bit too feminine to be…anyway! They're on a boat, sailing around the seas of Hoenn! And what's this? We actually get a phone call from the infamous Brendan Birch? What does this mean? Haha and oh, Ash and May are sharing a bed. Hmm, keep your minds far from the gutter okay?

Thanks goes to: **Trainer Jayden, seanygirl296, EmoSakura95, The Shiny Gengar, Chappetic, BlazingLegend** and ** MidnightMoon602!** I'm really appreciative of all the support you've given me thus far! Let's keep it up! And please, more OC's!

Next chapter will be right on schedule! See you in chapter 6!

Krystal


	6. Chapter 6

"_Uhm, does it really matter what I swim in?"_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalCler101

* * *

"_You have so much to learn…"_

* * *

_Chapter 6_

"Wow, so you're on a cruise ship?" Ash nodded. He was currently engaged in a rousing conversation with his mother, informing her of the most recent events that had taken place since his arrival. She looked a little sad based on the expression she was wearing through the screen. He could only smile slightly. His mother always did get a little depressed whenever he left home. He supposed she was expecting him to stay a little bit longer this time around.

"Yeah, May's dad gave us the tickets." He replied.

"That certainly was nice of him. So what's May like?" she asked with a slight tilt in her smile. She always got so giddy whenever he told her she was traveling with a girl. "Is she anything like Misty or Dawn or even Iris?"

Just as she said that, May came walking across the room cradling Pikachu in her rooms as she went to stare out the window. He smiled as he watched her. It was amazing how quickly they became acquainted with one another.

"No, she's not like them at all." He answered with a quick shake of his head. If he was being completely honest, May was not like any of his previous traveling companies or any girl he's ever met for that matter. "She's just different."

"Different?" Delia asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah. I don't really know how to explain it but she's just different." He shrugged, scratching the back of his head. He heard footsteps from behind him and bent forward slightly as Pikachu landed on top of his head.

"They're serving breakfast now if you want something to eat." May said before she noticed the face on the screen.

"Oh you must be May!" The older woman giggled. May smiled, gazing at Ash with a sly expression.

"You're Ash's mother, then. You two look nothing alike. Yes, I'm May. It's nice to meet you." Delia nodded before turning back over to her son.

"She's very pretty." Both Ash and May looked taken aback by her statement. The brunette shied away from the conversation, opting to sit on the bed all the way across the room.

"Uhm, yeah I guess."

"Oh Ash," Delia sighed. "Go eat breakfast, okay? Call me again sometime, hm? Love you sweetie."

"Love you too mom. Bye." With that he hung up the phone and sighed, resisting the urge to turn to his partner. When he managed to rally enough guts to face her, her back was turned to him and she was staring the ceiling.

"Your mom's a liar, Ash." She said.

"H-huh?" he called. He was confused. His mom was a liar? How? Why? Why would she say such a thing? It was so offensive he didn't know what to think. She had to be joking, there's no way she would outright call his mother a liar. But judging by the look on her face it wasn't a joke.

"She is." She affirmed. Standing to face him, May crossed the length of the room with confidence in her strides, her firm blue eyes never leaving his gaze for a second. She stopped once she was directly in front of him.

"Why would you say that?" he asked.

"Because," she started with a bow of her head and all of the sudden, her confidence had vanished. She was clasping her hands tightly in front of her. Feet shuffling uneasily and eyes darting to and fro. "I'm not pretty."

"You're not…That's not true!" he bellowed and May was taken aback by his declaration. "You are pretty, May! At least I think you are." He shrugged.

"You—you do?"

"Well yeah, I mean your hair is pretty and uh so are your eyes and—and stuff. She wasn't lying. Please don't call her a liar." He said with a stern expression.

"All right then." She beamed and whipped away, bounding for the door.

"Wait—huh?" he called, confused by her sudden change in mood.

"That was a test, Ash." She turned back to him with her usual smile.

"A…test?" he asked, obviously confused.

"Yes. A test. You see, when you meet a girl she's probably going to ask you at some point if you think she's pretty."

"She will?" he asked.

"No doubt. You handled the situation well. Honesty is the key. But be warned, if the girl is not pretty don't be so blunt about it, ok?" she warned. Ash was still pretty much clueless about what she was talking about but nodded anyway as they left the room and headed for the dining hall.

"So if she's not pretty what should I say?" he asked.

"Call her unique. You don't want to come off as a people pleaser otherwise they'll expect that out of you for the entire relationship." She explained.

"Oh," he replied. "How do you know so much about this stuff?" he asked. She turned to him as they entered the hall. With a smile, she picked up a plate and held it against her chest.

"That's a secret." She winked.

Breakfast went by fairly well, each of them eating their fair share of the free buffet. Ash was still in awe about how much food May could eat, despite her petite size. It was a little unnerving if he was being completely honest. She didn't even seem bothered by the weird stares the other patrons of the dining hall were giving their table. If anything, it was as if she were welcoming the stares.

After eating, they returned to the room to discuss the plans May had for Ash as far as finding a girl goes.

"Ok Ash," she began. She was stanring out their open suite window that overlooked the deck. Ash was seated on the bed, fixing his shoelace. "Today we're going to start the search for your girlfriend."

"Today? What are we going to do?" he asked. May looked at him with slightly squinted blue eyes. He held this kind of childlike innocence that was a little ridiculous but cute at the same time. It would be easy for practically any girl to fall for him right off the bat.

The problem was getting him to fall for a girl.

"We're going to the pool. You have swim trunks right?" she asked as she crossed the length of the room to where her pack sat on the floor.

"Yeah I have swim trunks. Oh yeah! I have this new thing that my friend Brock gave me!" excitedly, Ash dove for own pack and begin throwing things around, looking for said item. May watched with a smile as he throw clothes around happily. "Look!"

And he came up with a speedo.

"I can swim in this right?" May nearly blanched. Approaching him slowly, she took the article of clothing out of his hands and held it in her own. It was an obnoxious shade of red that was almost a little mocking. She grimaced while stretching it before flinging out the window like a rubber band.

"H-hey! What'd you do that for?" he asked with a little anger in his tone. May regarded him with a surprised expression before tilting her head to the side.

"Hmm?"

"My thing! Why'd you shoot it out the window?" he asked, running up to window to see if he could spot the red item from where it was projected.

"Because you didn't need it." She shrugged. "I'm going to change into my bathing suit now."

And she was gone, disappeared behind the bathroom door with a soft click. Ash's mouth was set in a crooked frown of displeasure as he watched her go. Just what in the world was her problem? You don't just toss people's clothes out the window. He had been so excited to show it to her and what does she do? Throw it away like yesterday's news.

It kind of angered him that she had the nerve to do such a thing. Yeah, she was helping him and for that he was grateful. But that didn't give her a free pass to just do whatever she wanted to. He noticed that she was rather blunt and had this weird attitude where she kind of did whatever with no regard for anyone around her. That's what, he decided, made her different from his other female companions.

"Put on your trunks and meet me on the deck." Came her voice as she stepped out of the bathroom donned in a white beach hat, dark sunglasses, a weird towel dress thing, and sandals. She mock saluted and was out the door.

"Pikapi?" His companion called from the floor, staring up at him with his little head tilted to the side. Ash sighed, scratching the back of his neck tiredly before heading to change his clothes as well.

If he really thought about it, May probably had a really good reason for throwing his swimming suit out the window. Maybe it was a fashion thing. Like it was out of season or tacky. Or maybe that choice of swimwear wasn't right for attracting female attention. Yeah, that had to be it.

Those thoughts kept running through his mind even as he was walking across the deck with Pikachu perched on his shoulder. He quickly scanned the area, people lounging around the pool in chairs basking in the sun. Couples shared brunches at the tables while some found themselves swimming in the water, laughter filling the air. Even the pokémon were out enjoying the nice weather and atmosphere.

It brought a smile to his face to see all these people out having a good time and spending it with their partners. And that's when he spotted May walking about the deck, speaking to various people, running from table to table and from chair to chair. And it was almost a frantic run as if she were worried about something.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for my friend. Have you seen him?" was what she said as she approached a girl around her age. She was dressed in a simple one piece swimsuit, sitting in a chair tanning. The girl had long dark hair and dark eyes that gazed at May with genuine concern. She listened intently as the brunette went on to describe Ash all the way down to the 'weird zigzags' on his cheeks.

"He has my Pikachu and she needs her medicine. If I don't give it to her, she'll get sick. Please, could you help me find him?" she pleaded.

_Her_ Pikachu? Medicine? Sick? What in the world was she talking about? Ash was half tempted to crash her little whatever she was doing and ask her just why in the world she was lying to some stranger about owning a seemingly ill Pikachu who needed medicine and that he had somehow ran off without her knowledge.

"Oh my," the girl gasped. "I'll help you look for him."

Ash couldn't believe his eyes. That girl had actually believed May's sob story and took off with her to search for him. He watched with wide brown eyes as the two females walked about the deck, peering here and there to get a glimpse of him. He sighed heavily through his nose before turning around, not wanting to be facing them if and when they found him.

But he felt a little silly, like this was some sort of game. Is this how people fell in love? Someone sets up a situation based on a lie and then it's love at first sight? It didn't seem real to him. No, it felt staged. Kind of like a play or a drama. And he wasn't sure whether he liked the method that May was using and that he would actually play along like she was expecting him to.

"Is that him right there?" the girl called.

"Yeah it is! Oh Ash!" May called running over to him. Immediately, she snatched Pikachu from his shoulder and cradled him in her arms kind of like a mother would a child. And he played right into her hands acting hands, thoroughly enjoying the attention.

"Why'd you take off like that? You know how ChuChu gets when she doesn't have her medicine." She scolded him lightly. He froze. What was he supposed to say? He'd never really had to lie to anyone before. But judging by the way May was staring at him, it was inevitable. And what in the world was a _ChuChu_?

"Uh sorry, the view from the north end was really nice and-" she cut him off with a hand and a playful smile.

"It's fine. Thank goodness Sophia was here to help me find you. Come on ChuChu, let's go." She disappeared behind the corner. Ash watched her retreating figure helplessly before turning to the girl before him. She was about a head shorter than him with slightly pale skin.

"Hi," he called, rubbing the back of his neck.

"How do you do?" she replied with a smile.

Elsewhere, May was watched with piqued interest at Ash's first encounter with the opposite sex, other than her of course. Pikachu sat on top of her head, balancing his hind legs on the brim of her large sun sat as little brown eyes peered curiously at his best friend's interaction with the girl May had presented them with.

"Pikapi…" he cooed worriedly.

"Hmm," May hummed before standing up straight and walking away from the scene. Pikachu eyed her curiously before crawling to her shoulder where she turned her head to look at him.

"I'm not much for espionage nor am I a clingy mother hen. It's not me. Besides, Ash is a gentleman, I'm sure he can handle the situation just fine." She smiled. And Pikachu decided that while his trainer was no Casanova, he had a weird knack for attracting females like Venomoths to a flame. Sometimes they just flocked towards him. Part of him believed he had a little something to do with that, what with him being unbelievably adorable. He wondered how Ash would fare without him this time.

"So," she called coming up to the railing of the east side.

"I heard you like ketchup."

To Be Continued.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter was kind of fun to write, though it did take me awhile to get it finished. Heck, it took me awhile to get it started. So let's see, we get to hear from Delia who is, no doubt, missing her little boy already. Gosh Ash, why can't you take a year off? Your mother misses you! Ahem, and also Brock is really devious giving poor Ash a Speedo. You'd think he would know what that was for. Thank Arceus for May, right?

Then we meet Sophia whose role won't reach that far…or will it? I'll let you take a wild guess on that one. There will probably be a significant time skip in the next chapter since we've been going from day to day so far and before you know it the ship with be docking on Dewford Island. It's weird writing about the Hoenn Region since my past couple stories have been centered on Kanto.

Thanks go to: **XxMuffinSlayerxX, EmoSakura95, Speedy-Fox-IV, Lady Lauren, MAD- The Awesomeman, seanygirl296, Midnightmoon602, Katherine Loves Kisses and any anonymous reviewers. **You guys are mad cool XD

Concerning OC's the first two will be mine and after that I'll start using the ones you submit. Be aware that they are OC's and their roles will not reach that far. Just a warning and thanks to everyone's who's submitted one! Keep them coming! I need males now too! See you in chapter 7!

Krystal


	7. Chapter 7

"_Sugar, spice, and everything nice."_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

* * *

"_Sounds more like a cake than a girl, May."_

* * *

_Chapter 7_

The next morning Ash awoke from a soundless slumber lying on arguably one of the softest beds he ever had the pleasure of sleeping on. It was like a cloud, or something similar to that. He literally had to fight with his body to get out of it. With a heavy sigh, he turned over on his side to the center of the bed, unsurprised to see the sheets neatly tucked in and vacant.

He recalled May saying something about not sleeping well and figured she was probably in the bathroom or out on the boat somewhere doing a little exploring. She was so strange and hard to figure out. Most of the time spent with her was used up trying to find out just what kind of person she was. Unlike anyone he had ever met before, she was just plain weird.

He rose from the soft mattress and padded his way into the open bathroom, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly while stifling a yawn. He showered quickly and changed into his usual attire before returning to the bedroom only to catch May coming in through the door with a paper sack in her arms and Pikachu resting on top of her head.

So that's where he was.

"Morning," he called with a slight wave. His partner pounced on him amiably before resting on his shoulder while May just smiled her usual smile and sat the sack on a table by the kitchenette housed in their suite.

"Morning. You know, you snore like a truck driver Ash." She made the offhanded comment while unloading the sack with amusement dancing through her blue eyes. And he was a little taken aback by her statement. It didn't help that Pikachu seemed to agree judging by the snickering coming from behind his back.

"Uh yeah, I've heard that before." He replied, rubbing his embarrassment away. "I didn't keep you up, did I?" he asked with concern laced in his tone.

May paused in her unpacking, developing a thoughtful look on her face. Ash found the expression to be rather foreign. In a way, it spoke volumes to him in ways that he couldn't really understand. The expression wasn't laced with mirth, mischief, or even a little bit of happiness. It almost seemed rather melancholy.

"Not any more than the usual insomnia." And it was gone in the blink of an eye, replaced with a half-smile. And he couldn't really tell if it was sarcasm or the actual truth. He couldn't really tell anything with her if he was being honest. That's just how weird she was. But he figured her weirdness was all a part of what made her May. And he was just going to have to be ok with that for the time being.

"What's all this?" he asked, referring to what looked like groceries she was unpacking and moving to the kitchen.

"I figure we'll be on this boat for a while so why not grab some cookable food." She replied. Ash watched as she busied herself with stocking the shelves and the fridge with various items, never missing a beat until the sack was emptied and recycled.

"Oh, okay." He answered quietly. She then set to cooking. Which kind of surprised Ash. He'd been travelling for who knows how long and had never quite grasped the concept of it, yet here was a girl barely the same age as him, attempting to fix up something edible. Granted, he was with Brock all those years so it wasn't like he went hungry, ever. Still, being around a good cook like him should've stirred something within the trainer.

"So you can cook, then?" he asked, resting his elbows on the countertop while Pikachu continued the lounge in his mess of raven locks. May turned to him, pausing in her current action of switching on the stove.

"Now that you mention it, I don't really know." Oh no. "I've only ever had to cook for myself and I think what I make tastes pretty good." She replied with a nervoussmile and a shrug. Her comment got Ash thinking. Hadn't she said something about travelling with that Brendan guy? If so, then hasn't he had her cooking before? So what did she mean? Did he refuse to eat her cooking? Or was it something else?

He brushed the thought away in favor of watching her work. It was with diligence and concentration that she moved about the small kitchen, shifting from place to place and adding ingredients to whatever she was dishing up. It was kind of interesting to watch her. She had quirks and mannerisms that he never noticed until now.

Like how she locked her knees while standing still, or how her fingers would form a tight fist then loosen accordingly or even how she sucked in her bottom lip at times. As he watched her he wondered what all these strange things meant. Would they give him a better insight to the type of person she was, or would they make her seem even more complicated?

"I can feel you staring at me, you know." She gave him a sideward glance while smirking. And Ash became rightful flustered at her revelation and tried to make it seem like he wasn't as deeply engrossed in her person as he was.

"Uh, I'm—I was just-" he was flopping around with his words like a Magikarp out of water.

"Here," she handed him a plate steaming ofood. "I hope you like French toast."

* * *

They were in the middle of washing the dishes, much like they had done previously at the Maple home, when the ship's intercom sounded through their cabin.

"Attention passengers! A pokémon tournament is being held at two pm on the main deck. Registration ends at noon! Again, a pokémon tournament will take place on the deck at two. Register at the main deck by noon! Thank you!"

"A tournament! Hey you want to enter? It sounds like fun." Ash said, putting the last dish in the sink as May dried her hands on a towel. She folded it and placed it on the oven door handle before bringing a hand up to her chin, standing in a thinking pose.

"Tournament. But didn't you say you only brought Pikachu? Just how far are you planning on getting?" she asked, arching a thin brow at him. He shrugged with a smile, resting his arms behind his head, enthusiasm itching to explode from his eyes.

"As far as we can get, right buddy?" he replied, turning to Pikachu who seemed to be just as excited as he was. May watched the two interact with calculating cobalt before a smile of her own broke out across her face.

"Alright, let's go register then." And they were off, leaving the suite and heading in the direction of main deck. On the way, May couldn't help but notice Ash seemed a whole lot happier than she had seen him since their meeting a few days ago. There was a visible pep in his step, his smile was constant, and if it were even possible, his entire presence seemed to glow.

When they arrived, it was scarcely populated with a few trainers hanging around what was assumed to be the registration table. Off to the side, a few workers were busy setting up the deck to be transformed into a battlefield.

Ash skipped/ran the last couple of feet in order to gain him and May a spot in the line. Had he been any younger, May wouldn't be hard pressed to believe he'd be bouncing off the walls by now.

"Aren't you excited May?" he asked as they moved forward in line.

"I guess so. It's just a tournament, Ash." She said.

"Yeah but pokémon battles are so awesome!" he exclaimed. "I know you're more of a coordinator and all, but you have to know how great they are."

"I don't. I always saw them as ways of getting stronger, not as having fun." This time her expression was very much blank. There was nothing on her face to indicate her previous words had been a joke. She was completely serious about what she had just said. But how could that be?

"Huh? But-"

"Hi! Are you here to register for the tournament?" A girl at the desk asked them. The girl had fiery red hair, brown eyes, and a bright smile. She was one of the ship's workers donned in a green collared shirt with the name tag 'Stacy' pinned on the left. Her face visibly reddened when her eyes fell on Ash, which went unnoticed by said trainer.

"Yeah!" Ash replied, obviously excited.

"G-great," she stuttered, shifting an imaginary strand of hair behind her tiny ear. May looked on silently with a knowing smirk playing on her features. "Are you entering the singles or doubles?"

"Doubles?" he asked, confusedly.

"Double battles are really popular here in Hoenn." May answered.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I remember being taught about them."

"Uh yeah. To enter the double battles you must have at least two pokémon, or you ca-can enter with a p-partner." She said, eyes uneasily dancing to a still smirking May.

"Hey May, if I enter the doubles, would you be my partner?" he asked.

"Why would you want to do doubles Ash?" May asked, feigning confusion.

"I figure a double battle is more challenging than a regular one." He replied with a competitive look in his eyes. May chanced a glance at the girl only to see her eyes strictly fixated on Ash, literally soaking up all of his presence with her gaze.

"If you say so. Doubles it is then." May shrugged. Stacy then jotted down their names, handing them name tags with matching numbers and ushered them off with the time of their first match and a sly wink for Ash.

However, he was too busy peeling off the sticker and placing it on his stomach to give any attention to the female. May just held the sticker in her hands as they made their way across the decks, stopping by a nice table with an umbrella providing shade.

"I need to teach you perception, Ash." May said suddenly, resting her head in her palm. He looked up, distracted enough from memorizing his number to give her his full attention.

"Perception? What for?" he asked, elbows leaning down. She sighed, giving the other patrons of the boat a long silent glance before turning back to her companion.

"That girl at the desk was head over hills for you." She replied.

"She was? How'd you know?" he asked, suddenly very interested in what she had to say.

"Well for one thing, she hardly paid me any attention. She blushed as soon as you walked up to the desk, and she winked before you left."

"Really? I guess I was too excited about the tournament to really pay any attention." He laughed sheepishly.

"I noticed." She laughed, even more so at the pout he was wearing. "There are other important things you need to focus on now that you've taken up this challenge."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So should I go back up there?"

"Are you attracted to her?" she asked, drawing circles with her index finger along the table below.

"She's kind of pretty."

"That didn't really answer my question. Let's take a different approach, when you saw her did you feel anything special, or weird?"

"No, not really." He replied with a simple shrug. He kind of had a feeling where she was going with all the questions she was asking and was hoping that maybe he was finally starting to catch on, if only a little bit.

"Then your best bet would be to stay right here." She said, emphasizing her statement by planting her index finger down on the table.

"Because?"

"Well it's obvious that she has some sort of romantic feelings for you. If you approach her with the wrong intentions, she might take it the wrong way. In the end, no one will be happy."

"I see. So it's like leading her on, right?" she asked, just to be sure he was getting it.

"You're catching on fast." May winked. He was a bit taken aback by the gesture but smiled at the fact he was finally getting what she was talking about. "Besides I don't think she would be a good match for you."

Now this, he didn't understand.

"I'm not following." He said as May flagged down a nearby waiter.

"Well if you noticed, she didn't ask for your name meaning she's either psychic or she knows you from your recent rise to champion."

"So? A lot of people know me." he said. Once the waiter arrived, he handed them both menus and took off quietly for them to decide. May eyed the shiny piece of paper before her eyes scanned over something and lit up considerably.

"Judging by the way she was staring at you, I can bet you all the hairs on that head of yours that she's a fan." She looked so sure of herself. It kind of made Ash nervous to see such an expression on her face.

"What's wrong with my fans?" he really wasn't getting it.

"Fans have a certain history of being crazy stalkers and just plain creepy. But more importantly, they idolize whoever it is that they admire. They see celebrities as higher beings than regular people and hold them to a higher standard. It's almost like they're idols and not humans."

"Really? I never thought of that…" his voice trailed off as he too stared at the menu but it was more of a superficial glance.

"Don't get me wrong, though. Not all fans are like that. I just don't think it would be the best idea to date one unless you really get to know them."

"I think I get what you're saying. It would be kind of hard to get her to look past the championship to really see me." That brought a smile to her face. Before he knew it she had reached across the table and poked him in the forehead.

"There's hope for you yet, Ash Ketchum."

It was something about that action that always seemed to zap away all trains of thought going through his mind. Maybe there was some sort of magic in the tip of her finger that chased his musings away with a single tap. Or maybe there was something mentally wrong with him and slightest touch would send all of his thoughts careening away, never to return.

But he couldn't help the smile that formed, his fingers rubbing the still tingling spot.

"Hope is good."

* * *

**A/N:** I'll end it here. I think this chapter was a pretty nice length. Of course, some people will want it to be longer. It's around 2,500 words which is the average length for a lot of my chapter stories, don't you think?

Onto the chapter! May's insomnia is addressed once again and Ash is just trying to figure her out. Which, if you think about it, isn't that crazy. I mean, he is going to be travelling with her and kind of depending on her to find him a girlfriend. He needs to be sure that she is stable and won't crack on him, right? Moving right along, a tournament is taking place on the ship! And another love interest enters the story! Stacy! Will she be the one or will May's discouragement veer Ash on a completely different path?

Thanks goes to: **Ichiruki8, Katherine Loves Kisses, XxMuffinSlayerxX, mermaidmelodylover, Sacrowhunter, The Shiny Gengar, Prophet of Shadow, and Midnightmoon602!**

Also, there's going to be a lot of OC's popping up in the future so if you don't care for them, now's your time to turn back. For the most part, they won't take the place of any major characters nor will they be having tons of appearances. You'll see their purposes soon enough! Thanks for reading this chapter! Onto number 8!

Krystal


	8. Chapter 8

"_You should never ask a girl how much she weighs. Never."_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

* * *

"_Not even if I ask politely?"_

* * *

Chapter 8

Finally the waiter arrived back at their table delivering tiny cakes, fries, and drinks for the both of them. May busied herself with scarfing down the delectable while Ash attempted to follow suit with his own snack. Instead he found himself trying to wrestle the ever sought after ketchup bottle from his hungry starter.

"Pika…" the electric type growled insistently. He wasn't relinquishing the tight hold on the bottle, not even for one second. And Ash was getting a little more than irritated at Pikachu's stubbornness. They had been through this particular ordeal on more than one occasion. It was partially the reason why Ash never ordered anything remotely related to ketchup. Ever.

"Come on Pikachu! You can have it right back!" Ash protested, hissing when a tiny claw dug into the flesh of his right hand.

"Pika pika!" he called back, shaking his head.

"Don't be so stingy! " He pulled at the bottle from the bottom, using one hand to try and pry the mouse off the container. It was like a game of tug of war, neither side giving into the other. May, in between bites, watched with amusement as Pikachu gave Ash a quick smack to the face leaving a nice lightning shaped mark on his cheek.

"Ah! Cut it out!" Ash shouted, rubbing at his tingling cheek. Both paused in their spat to stare at May who suddenly started laughing.

"You two are quite a pair. I don't think I've ever seen anyone have a fight over ketchup." She said, wiping mock tears from her eyes. Ash felt his face heating up out of embarrassment as Pikachu became bashful all the sudden, momentarily forgetting about their fight in favor of scratching behind his head with a shy coo.

"Gotcha'!" Ash took that time to snatch the bottle away and get enough ketchup to sedate him and his partner. While Pikachu was clearly dissatisfied with being distracted, his mood quickly dissipated after receiving the bottle back from Ash. "It's usually not this bad."

"Pikapi…" he grumbled before turning back to his snack. Ash just laughed nervously and turned his attention back to May who was now staring at him intently. Her cake had long since been devoured and she was resting her elbows on the tabletop with her head in her hands.

"Usually? That's pretty funny." She beamed.

"Yeah, if you're not the one trying to get the ketchup." Ash replied, rolling his eyes, shooting Pikachu a fond smile.

"Hmm, I think Pikachu will be a big help in the future." She said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked confused. Pikachu seemed to be completely engrossed in the red liquid to give May and Ash much recognition and continued to snack despite the fact the conversation was now centered around him.

"He's what guys would call a 'Chick Magnet.' Girls are easily sucked in by cuteness. It's no wonder you've always had a female travelling with you.'"

"Pikachu? A…chick magnet?" Ash muttered quietly to himself while giving some thought to what May had said. Truth be told he never really considered Pikachu throughout this whole ordeal. He just figured that his little electric-type would come with the package. There's no way you could have Ash without Pikachu. They came in a pair. When he thought of Pikachu, he thought of himself.

"Mhmm, it also helps that he knows how to play right into the hands of a woman." She pointed out.

"Heh, I never really thought about that before. You sure do know a lot about this stuff." He added.

"I know enough." She shrugged with a faraway look in her eyes.

After finishing off their food and paying they found that there was still a bit of time left before the tournament began. Ash suggested they do a little exploring and May agreed leading them all across the main deck and taking a quick break at the south end, by a railing overlooking the sea.

"So May, what kind of adventures did you have on your journey?" he asked, arms folded across the rail while May leaned back against it with her arms across her chest. Instead of answering right away she hummed thoughtfully and gave the sky up above a questioning stare.

"It wasn't all that exciting, mostly because I didn't really like pokémon when I started off. I just wanted to travel and whatever pokémon I got would be along for the ride." She began.

"Really? I met someone like that a few years back. He was more afraid of pokémon than anything else, but…"

"It took a lot of convincing from my parents and Brendan to get me started on the right track but even then I didn't know where to start. Brendan was a year older than me so he had already started his journey. He couldn't be with me like I needed him to so most things I ended up learning on my own."

"Must've been rough."

"You don't know the half of it. A lot of people think that because my father is a gym leader that I would automatically inherit his battling skills but to be completely honest he was part of the reason why I didn't like pokémon in the first place." She replied with a weird kind of smile.

"Why?"

"Well when I was growing up he was always in training to be a gym leader, always preparing to take the examination in front of the league council. I hardly ever got to see him and we were always moving around. I never really made any friends because we never stayed in one place for too long. The only reason Brendan and I are so close is because professor Birch and my dad are old friends."

"Wow May," Ash commented with an apologetic expression on his face. But May reassured him with a smile, a normal one this time.

"Sounds like a real sob story, huh? But enough about me, let's hear about you. How'd you get started?" she asked, giving him a firm poke in the arm. Ash stared off in the distance of the ocean in front of him and let a broad smile slowly form on his face.

"My journey, it was rough at first. For starters, I was late to the professor's lab and almost left without a pokémon. All the starters had been taken but I couldn't leave empty handed. He ended up giving me the very last pokémon he had, a Pikachu." He said. May noted at sheer look of fondness on his face. It was obvious he had a unique love for pokémon; you could tell just by the look on his face.

"Pika!" the electric type piped up. The rest of the story consisted of Ash recalling how he and Pikachu met, the trials and tribulations they went through during the first few days of their journey, the friends they made and the memories they shared. It was a touching tale filled with heartfelt moments and genuine companionship. Towards the end, May had developed the foreign feeling of longing somewhere in her heart.

Ash noticed her stranger than normal silence and was going to say something when she suddenly left, saying something about changing her clothes. He watched her retreating figure with confused eyes and resorted back to looking out at the ocean blue below. Pikachu shifted slightly in his mess of hair before peering down at his trainer with questioning eyes.

"Pika?"

"I don't know Pikachu. She's…hard to figure out." He replied with a quick shake of his head and a smile.

"Well well, if isn't the newest addition to May's little harem." That voice sent discomfort in the form of shivers all over Ash's spine while Pikachu quickly scrambled to the top of his head, nestled safely behind messy locks.

'_Harem? What's he talking about?' _Ash turned slowly, mouth already set to question the guy's previous statements before giving him a once over. He was just starting to really value May's opinion and agree with everything she said to him. But part of him was questioning her calling this fellow, well, a fellow.

"The name's Harley, hun. I'm sure it's a pleasure." And he held out his hand like it was the most delicate thing in the world. Ash found himself at odds with whether or not he wanted to return the gesture. On one side, he'd look like a jerk and that would kinda_sorta_ reflect badly on the company May kept—and what the heck did he mean by harem?

"Ash Ketchum." He decided to shake the hand, albeit a little slowly.

"_The_ Ash Ketchum! What are the chances of meeting a stud like you here?"

"A…stud?"

"I see May's taste in men hasn't changed, nothing but the best for that little vixen. Though I must say you've entered the game a little late."

"What are you-"

"Oh but don't mind me, Ash darling. I'm merely a spectator, enjoying the show." And then he smiled. It was one of those creepy smiles that caused shivers to erupt all over his body, right down to his curling toes. There was something seriously disturbing about this guy and Ash found himself wanting to escape as quickly as possible.

"I hope you're not getting yourself into a situation you can't sweet talk your way out of, Harley _dear_." Her call was a mixture of hiss and sneer wrapped tightly in confidence while May, herself, stood off to the side staring at the two with a smile on her face.

Harley whipped around with a smile painted on his face while his eye started twitching slightly. This caused Ash to frown considerably as he didn't really want to get in the middle of whatever was about to transpire between the two. A couple days ago, they seemed like pretty good friends but now, things were definitely different. And while he didn't really pride himself in reading situations, he could read people and Harley was upset.

About what? He didn't want to know that either.

"Little old me? Why, you know I would never cause any trouble." He feigned innocence, clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes.

"Oh I'm sorry. I must have you confused with some other Cacturne clad coordinator on the ship." She smiled sweetly, titling her head to the side before brushing passed him in favor of standing next to a steadily blanching Ash. The trainer visibly relaxed at her closeness but tensed up at the feeling of a strange aura emitting from her person.

"So Harley, are you participating in the Tournament?" she asked.

"Oh heavens no! Battling these talentless tourists would be a waste of my precious pokémon and time. Though I'm sure you should be fairly entertained." He replied, smirking at her widely.

"Ah, just like I was entertained by you at the last Grande festival." Came her retort. "We should probably get going. Until next time."

"Yes of course!" he waved amiably before turning around, face red and full of embarrassment at the sudden shame she brought on, not only him but his pokémon as well.

"That girl! She's shameless! Absolutely shameless! I'll make her pay!"

While Harley marched off to plot his revenge against the sarcastic brunette, the pair of Ash and May were preoccupied with watching the crew make the finishing touches for the tournament. There were a lot more people standing around as the time for the festivities to begin was drawer closer.

Ash found himself happily distracted from the previous events in favor of thinking about his upcoming battle. He was excited, to say the least. He hadn't battled since he arrived in Hoenn and he was itching for a good one. Not to mention he'd get to see May's pokémon in action. She seemed like a pretty good trainer, even if he didn't know a lot about that aspect of her life.

"So May," he started. "Which pokémon are going to use?"

"The one most compatible with Pikachu's electric type attacks. In the event that we go up against a ground type, Blaziken is out of the picture as is Beautifly. Snorlax isn't much of a team player, even if he does try. I guess that leaves Glaceon, Delcatty and Bulbasaur." She explained.

"Glaceon's an ice type, right?" she nodded. "I had a Glalie at one point in time but I don't think we ever double battled with it. Did you Pikachu?"

"Pikachu?" the yellow mouse shrugged before jumping to May's shoulder, motioning to her belt.

"Oh, so you want to choose?" she asked. He nodded excited and hopped onto the ground, waiting for May to release her pokémon. One by one those familiar flashes of light materialized into two feline like pokémon and short green one with a bulb on its back.

"Take your pick!" she beamed.

"So Delcatty's a normal type?" Ash asked. May nodded, watching Pikachu interact with half of her team. It was kind of interesting seeing them all together. Pikachu was peering at each other carefully, even sniffing a bit for good measure.

"It must be a tough decision for him, huh?"

"Yeah," he smiled warmly. "I have a feeling he's going to choose Bulbasaur, though."

"What makes you say that?" She asked as they hung back a bit, giving the group their space.

"Remember I have a Bulbasaur too. He has more experience battling alongside one opposed to Glaceon and Delcatty. Nothing against them, I think they're awesome. But when it comes to battles, we stick with what we know."

"Ah, I see now." She nodded in agreement. And when the time came, she wasn't all that surprised to see that Pikachu had, indeed, picked her little grass type.

"Good choice buddy." Ash praised while Pikachu climbed up on his shoulder.

"You might not know a lot about love, but you know your pokémon." He was surprised at her compliment and was able to smile at a bit while she returned the rest of her team, leaving Bulbasaur out.

"I have to know something, don't I?"

To Be Continued.

* * *

**A/N:** Harley returns! He's back with a vengeance! And what's this? Pikachu chooses Bulbasaur as his battling partner? Haha, I bet you thought he'd choose Glaceon, or Delcatty! Come on, that'd be way too obvious! What else? Oh, Pikachu's a total chick magnet. I mean if I ever met a guy who had a Pikachu I'd totally talk to him.

Moving on, the battle officially begins next chapter as will the OC introductions! I'll give you a sneak peek! Ash and May versus battle twins Kari and Kairi! Thanks to Trainer Jayden and EmoSakura95 for submitting OC's with not only similar names but similar appearances! You guys totally planned that! Kudos!

Thanks goes to:** XxMuffinSlayerxX, The Shiny Gengar, Katherine Loves Kisses, psychoyoshi79, Pure Arua, seanygirl296, DavidShawnMichael, and MAD- The Awesomeman! **

As far as news goes, I've got nothing. But please do submit a review! Tell me what you thought of this chapter, if you have an OC, what you think Harley's up to, anything! See you in chapter 9!

Krystal


	9. Chapter 9

_"How do you battle May?"_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

* * *

_"With pokémon."_

* * *

Chapter 9

"Hello and welcome to the Hoenn Regional Cruise Tour Battle Tournament!" the announcer called from the center of the field with so much vigor that the crowd erupted into a loud cry in response. Everyone was pretty much pumped for the upcoming battles. Which wasn't much of a surprise considering they'd been stuck on a boat for the past three days. Things were starting to get a little awkward.

"We have an exciting day planned for all of you! Please enjoy the battles and respect the trainers and their pokémon!" another series of cheers sounded throughout the outdoor field as the announcer bowed politely in response to the loud applause.

May and Ash stood off in their designated area, clapping as the festivities began. The double battles were about to start and since they were pretty much the first pair to register, their battle was going to be first. Ash looked around eagerly, eyeing trainers and their pokémon to see who would be a tough opponent for them. This would be his first time battling in Hoenn in years and he was downright anxious.

May on the other hand couldn't seem to focus on anything than an annoying tangle in her hairs. It had started off as just absently running her fingers through her hair until her pinkie got caught in a knot. Now she was combing it through with her fingers, growing steadily agitated with the less than satisfying results.

In the end, the tangle never did work itself out leaving her in a suddenly sour mood. With a pout, she turned her attention to her partner or, more specifically, his own mess of dark hair. Part of her grimaced at the sight while the other part allowed a half smile to come across her face. It really was a mess. Jet black strands were sticking out in every direction known to man giving him a very wild yet strangely civilized look.

"Weird," she giggled, lightly distracting him from whatever the announcer was saying now. He looked over at May and smiled, convinced that she was finally getting into the spirit. They were soon ushered to the battlefield, standing across from two girls with similar features, in terms of physical characteristics anyway.

"Without further ado let's begin! First up in the double matches is the duo of Ash and May versus the duo of Kairi and Kari!"

"Wow, it's really Ash Ketchum! We won't lose to you!" Kairi, the one on the right exclaimed. Fire was dancing through her brown eyes as her long brunette hair whipped about in response to her wild movements. A loud sigh came from beside her as her twin reached behind her person for a pokéball.

"Focus Kairi, these are serious opponents." Kari said. Her narrowed green eyes were focused on the figures of Ash and May standing across the field. She slipped an annoying strand of light brown hair behind her ear before turning to her sister.

"I know, I know." Kairi waved her off before also picking her respective pokéball, waiting for the match to officially start.

"This should be interesting." May said with a small smile.

"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash called while Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and onto the field. He then welcomed his new friend Bulbasaur who ambled her way onto the field and stood beside the electric type quietly.

"Okay! Typhlosion!" Kairi yelled, tossing a red and white ball into the air and watching as it turned out to be a pokémon of large stature with flames erupting from its back.

"Raaargh!"

"Swampert!" Kari followed suit, with her large mud-fish pokémon appearing next, flexing its large fin like hands, eyes focused across the field.

"Swaaa!"

"Begin!"

"Flamethrower, Tyhphlosion!" Kairi called out the first attack, bursting with as much as excitement as the flames that soared from the fire type's mouth towards Pikachu and Bulbasaur.

"Protect." May called calmly. Just as the flame was close enough to make contact, Bulbasaur summoned a large, blue bubble and incased herself inside of it, completely safe from the heat.

"Swampert, use Muddy Water." Kari ordered next, eyes focused on the stationery form of Pikachu.

"Dodge with quick attack, Pikachu!" as instructed, Pikachu used the speed of the quick to zip out of the line of the attack and to the other side of Bulbasaur whose protect was beginning to die down.

"Not so fast! Lava Plume!" Kairi quickly responded.

"Idiot…Protect!" Kari also called in response to Kairi's messy attack. Large spurts of lava soared through the area, landing all across the field on both sides.

"Sorry…" Kairi laughed nervously, noticing her mistake.

"Whoa! Nice move! Alright Pikachu, Thunder!"

"Protect again, Bulbasaur." Still calm, May stayed on defense. Kairi gritted her teeth in frustration at not being able to land a hit on May's Bulbasaur and the fact that the brunette didn't even seem fazed by the sheer power of her pokémon and its attacks.

"You can't hide behind Protect forever!" she exclaimed. "Brick Break on Bulbasaur, Typhlosion!"

"Vine Whip." Just as Typhlosion's heavy arm was about to crash down on Bulbasaur, vines sprouted from its bulb and wrapped tightly around the offending arm and thrust it back with surprising force.

"What?"

"Don't lose your cool. Blizzard!" Kari called. Eyes glowing an eerie blue, Swampert summoned a wintery blizzard into the field. Flakes of snow whipped harshly against Pikachu and Bulbasaur, momentarily blinding them.

"Saur…"

"Pika…!" he cooed helplessly.

"Hang in there Pikachu. Use Thunder!" Ash called with concern. In response to Ash's call of attack Kari scoffed.

"Nice try but you should know that an electric attack like Thunder won't work on my Swarpert." She said.

"Who said it was for Swampert?" Pikachu's Thunder attack was fairly weak against the Blizzard but managed to clear it up enough for them to see. It was then that May had an idea.

"Follow my lead. Bulbasaur, give Pikachu a good toss with Vine Whip." Just as she instructed, Bulbasaur's vines wrapped around Pikacuh's tiny torso and reared him back before firing him across the field.

"Oh I see! Quick Attack and then Iron Tail!" Increasing the momentum behind the toss, Pikachu practically soared through the air like a bullet before whipping its body around, showing off a brightly glowing tail headed straight for Kari's Swampert.

"Muddy Water!" A last minute attack was called in an attempt to intercept the steel type attack, resulting in both pokémon being effectively damaged; Swampert due to the force of the Iron Tail and Pikachu due to the type advantage.

"Now's my chance! Flamethrower!" Kairi called. Typhlosion set itself steadily on the ground before letting out a mass of flames and sending them right towards May's Bulbasaur, who didn't respond at all.

"What? No protect this time?" she jeered. May remained silent, earning a concerned glance from Ash.

"May…"

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip." She called. Effectively damaged by the previous attack but still fit for battling, Bulbasaur summoned its vines, this time aiming at Swampert. It whipped both extended limps at the mud-fish before wrapping tightly around its arm and hurling it into Typhlosion.

"Nice one May!" Ash praised.

"Ugh! Blizzard again!" Kari called, suddenly losing her cool. Again, a barrage of snowflakes covered the length of the field leaving the team of Pikachu and Bulbasaur temporarily blinded.

"Good Kari! Okay Typhlosion, Brick Break at full power!" The fire type dashed across the field, gather strength in its arm before bringing it crashing down into a slightly simmering Bulbasaur.

"Bulba!" it cried, careening across the field and stopping at May's feet.

"Oh no! Bulbasaur! Ugh Volt tackle, Pikachu!" in defense of the fallen Bulbasaur, Pikachu dashed across the field in a blur of wild electricity, constantly chanting its name before crashing into Typhlosion, hurtling it backwards.

"It's seems as if Bulbasaur is unable to-"

"Synthesis." A last minute attempt to keep the battle going. The battered bulb opened up, absorbing the sunlight from the cloudless day while revitalizing Bulbasaur in the process. The grass type was able to stand on all fours, fully recovered from the previous attacks and ready to continue fighting.

"What? No way!" Kairi called in disbelief.

"I told you they were serious. Ready Kairi?"

"Huh? Oh, you bet!"

"Earthquake!" The twins exclaimed. May's eyes opened widely at the sound of the attack as the respective pokémon simultaneously pounded the ground heavily.

"Bulbasaur get Pikachu and use Protect!" May hastily called out the orders and hoped they'd be fast enough. Ash clenched his fist, wishing the same. As commanded, Bulbasaur used its Vines to nab Pikachu and held him in the air and before protectively surrounding the both of them in the blue sphere.

"No fair!" Kairi pouted.

"Ugh! Muddy Water!" Once the protect vanished, Swampert sent a surge of murky water towards to the two just as Bulbasaur was about to release Pikachu. However, it managed to keep the electric type above the torrent of water leaving him unharmed.

"Lava Plume Typhlosion!" Kairi called soon after. But the left over water from the previous wave rendered the lava all but useless.

"Kari!" She cried.

"I called my attack first!" The other replied. In the midst of their argument, Ash and May had come up with a way to end the match.

"Volt Tackle Pikachu!" Ash called.

"Solar Beam!" May followed. As Pikachu raced across the field gathering electricity, Bulbasaur sat stationery, its bulb tilted towards the shining sun, gathering energy for what promised to be a powerful attack.

"Typhlosion stop Bulba with—no! Typhlosion!" At that moment, Pikachu collided with Typhlosion in an explosion of smoke and lightning sending Pikachu flying and leaving Typhlosion out of commission.

"Fine, I guess I'll—what? Impossible!" Just as Kari was about to call out a command, a fully charged Solar Beam came bursting across the field, roughly impacting Swampert and fainting it in the process. Ash let out a sigh of relief before focusing his attention on Pikachu who was shaking off the after effects of that damaging Volt tackle.

"Swampert and Typhlosion are unable to battle! Ash and May advance to the second round!" the proctor announced. The crowd applauded endlessly at the end of the battle, obviously satisfied by the overall outcome.

The twins returned their pokémon, giving each other sad, defeated looks before trekking over to the center of the field to address their recent opponents.

"That was a really great battle. You guys were awesome!" Ash exclaimed, shaking Kari's hand.

"Wow, it's so great to hear someone like you say that!" Kairi replied, scratching behind her head while shaking May's hand with her other.

"Sorry about the whole Protect taunt. I see why you kept using it." She replied.

"No harm, no foul. I don't think I've ever used it that much. You were tough to face off against." May said with a smile.

"Thank you for the battle. We won't lose next time, though." Kari replied cordially, shaking both trainers hands before sending them off with a stiff nod.

"Awh we lost…" Kairi pouted as they walked off.

"Your fault." Kari replied.

"Don't blame me! You messed up too…!"

"Told you it would be interesting." May said, cradling Bulbasaur in her arms as they walked off. Ash laughed a bit as they walked off to sit in the stands with the audience. It would be awhile before their next match, seeing as they were first and there were at least six more pairs behind them.

"Yeah. You're a good battler, May. I had no idea you had that Synthesis up your sleeve." He commented. And to be honest, it was a real surprise. Here he thought Bulbasaur was down for the count but then that Synthesis just came out of nowhere. It was like the turning point of the match. Not to mention that the fast Solar Beam.

"We're just full of surprises." She replied with a sly wink.

"Say, how'd Bulbasaur charge that Solar Beam so fast?" he asked, pointing to the grass type, whose red eyes were currently focused on a Butterfree flying across the battlefield.

"Power Herb."

"Power Herb?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's an item that allows a move that takes a long time to charge to be fired right away. We found it in Johto." She explained.

"That's so cool!" he said. But even he had to admit that May had him a little worried during the match. Up until the end, she seemed rather detached and still aloof like normal. It was especially true when Bulbasaur was hit with what had to be a painful Brick Break, not to mention the earlier Flamethrower. It unnerved him to see a pokémon endure large amounts of damage like Bulbasaur. It bothered him even more that May didn't seem at all fazed by it.

"Hey May," he started.

"We should probably get these two healed up, don't you think?" she suggested. Losing his current train of thought, Ash nodded absently and followed May to the makeshift first aid tent where Nurse Joy was stationed with a portable pokémon healing machine. She took their pokémon and sent them off with the promise of having the two ready in about fifteen minutes.

As they were walking around, waiting for their pokémon, Ash let his thoughts wonder. He had long since gotten over the fact that May was unlike any other person he had ever encountered and focused more on just what made her so much different. He guessed it was everything about her.

The way she carried herself. The way she responded to certain situations, things, and people. The way she spoke. The way she stayed silent at times. The way she acted. She didn't have an array of emotions that she could switch between like Misty. She didn't have certain things that made her giddy like Dawn. She didn't have that fiery determination like Iris.

No, she had things that were completely different.

She was quirky, happy, random, sometimes melancholy, distant, mysterious, honest, knowledgeable about love and relationships, resourceful, capable.

"Ash, stop staring at me."

And blunt beyond belief. But he guessed that all of that was okay. And it wasn't refreshing because they were things that he wasn't used to. No, they were something new altogether. Something he was definitely going to have to adjust to. Something he didn't mind adjusting to.

"Oh, sorry."

* * *

**A/N:** Ah it's late! Ah it's short! Ah I'm sorry! Phew, glad I got that off my chest. Let me give so more off! I hated writing this chapter! I can't tell you the last time I wrote a battle scene. This. Was. Awful. I'd rather go to the dentist than write something like this again but I have to and it hurts. It hurts! Sigh, enough of my problems I guess.

This chapter we meet the twins Kari and Kairi as mentioned in the previous chapter. Sorry if I got them mixed up somewhere in the chapter. Their names are so close! Ash and May win the battle! What'd you guys think of the battle? Could you picture it in your head? Was a fair fight? Or an obvious victory on Ash and May's part? I will say that I did tons of research and picking the correct moves and a lot of it is based off the way battles are done in the games. Tell me what you think! Also! Ash does a little self-assessment of May's character! Is he going to reach some sort of epiphany or will we find out more about her as we progress? Stay tuned!

Thanks to: **DavidShawnMichael, Katherine Loves Kisses, DBZ101, hungergamesfanatic789, MAD- The Awesomeman, reddolphin5000, The Shiny Gengar, and Lady Lauren! Blessing to you all!**

Again, sorry about this being so late. School kicked my butt this week. But I rocked my first paper! Hell yeah! Ok, uhm see you next week!

Krystal

P.S.: At this moment I am much too tired to reread for mistakes so feel free to point any out and I'll get it on after some sleep. Kthanksbai!

Revised 09.09.12 (weird, huh? XP)


	10. Chapter 10

"_How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodch-"_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

* * *

"_Whoa, whoa! Wait! What's a woodchuck?"_

* * *

Chapter 10

At the midpoint of the second battle of the first round, Ash and May had found vacate seats in the center of the bleachers with a clear few of the festivities taking place. After retrieving their pokémon from the Nurse Joy on deck, they purchased snacks from a nearby vendor. Ash commented on the strange convenience of everything on the ship and how he had never been on one quite like it before.

"This really is a luxury." He said in between bites of his second hotdog. May had a large bucket of kettle corn in her lap and was alternating between eating that and the cotton candy in her left hand. Pikachu and Bulbasaur sat at their feet munching on their respective pokémon food silently.

"Fit for a gym leader." Her comment was rather off handed as she picked a large piece of the pink cloud and popped it in her mouth. It dissolved in a matter of seconds while her tongue darted out to catch any access sugar left on her lips. It was almost second nature to her, trying to consume as much of the sweet delight as she could.

"You really like sweets, don't you?" Ash commented, pointing to her choice of foods.

"Hm? How do you figure?" she asked, kinda/sorta surprised by his conclusion.

"Well at breakfast the other day you had tons of syrup on your pancakes. You ordered cakes at that café we ate at and now you've got all that cotton candy and sweet popcorn stuff." He explained it like he was going through a list of things, even using his fingers to count off her many escapades. Her eyes narrowed significantly while she stuffed a handful of kettle corn into her mouth. Ash grew stiff at her gaze and began to wonder if he had said the wrong thing.

"Yeah, and what of it?"

"Uh! Nothing! There's nothing wrong with eating sweets and—marrgh!" he exclaimed at the sudden cluster of popcorn that forceful entered his mouth. He chewed with uncertainty while staring at May incredulously. But she just smiled at him, eyes crinkled happily.

"What a fast learner you are! Your level of perception has increased!" she gushed. Ash had managed to finally swallow all the popcorn, still pretty surprised by what she did. But he was strangely happy. He was finally learning, finally beginning to understand everything that she'd been talking about. The things about love and relationships and everything in between. It was all becoming a clearer to him.

"Ah but there is still a flaw in your design, my young pupil." She said with smirk on her face, blissfully unaware of the cotton candy stuck to her left cheek.

'_My design? Pupil? Heh, she's got something on her cheek…'_ he fought of the cheeky grin that dared to appear at her amusing appearance.

"You get flustered easily and while that is an endearing quality in some guys it can be rather annoying at times." She said, continuously eating.

"Huh? I do not get flustered!" cheeky grins and cotton candy covered cheeks aside, he was not going to let her steal his victory in the form of insults. Even if it wasn't directed at him.

"Ahem, and I quote, 'Uh nothing! There's nothing wrong with eating sweets!'" she mocked him with such mirth that he wanted to laugh. But she was making fun of him! That was just unacceptable!

"Yeah, well, at least I don't have food on my face!" he retorted back. May's sudden amusement was cut short as she stared at him with her head tilted to the side.

"Yeah, and what of it?" what was with this girl? Here he thought she was giving him praise and then she turns right back around and insults him. He does not get flustered or whatever she's talking about.

"Whatever…" he grunted, practically done with the conversation and anything else she had to say to him.

"Don't pout. It's nothing a little practice can't fix." She said, throwing multiple kernels his way and giggling when they landed in his messy hair. He grunted, brushing them free of his locks before turning to face her.

"I wasn't pouting." He replied, fixing her with a small glare.

"Sure." She was pretty quiet after that before turning to face him, getting his attention by tugging on his sleeve. He looked over to her constantly brushing her face, silently asking if it was clear of any food. And he shook his head after every failed attempt until she sighed in defeat.

"It's right there! I don't see how you keep missing it." He teased.

"'I don't see how you keep missing it.'" She mocked again, but flinched when he suddenly pinched her on the cheek. The flesh became red from the pressure of his squeeze and she instinctively rubbed the spot while giving him the most surprised look Ash had ever seen her wear.

It wasn't until tears started to pool in her blue eyes that he began to regret his decision. She continued to rub her aching cheek with her teeth bit into her bottom lip, whimpers escaping her mouth. Ash recoiled back at her pained expression, fearing what the outcome would bring.

"Tha-that really hurt!" she cried, bowing her head, shoulders shaking. He was at a loss of what to do. He also had trouble with tears, especially from girls. He never knew what he was supposed to do. He remembered his mother saying something like girls were fragile creatures, but they couldn't possibly be _this_ fragile could they?

"I-I-! May I'm so sorry! Uh please don't cry! Uhm—!" And then she raised her head, tears gone and replaced with mischief coupled with that familiar teasing smile.

"Flustered."

"You're the worst."

* * *

By the end of the third battle Ash had somehow managed to find an inkling of forgiveness in his heart for May. Although she didn't particularly beg for it, it was still well received all the same. And in order to make it up to him in a way, she was helping him get over his flustered nature. Well, the stuttering part at least.

"Okay, try this. Tongue twisters. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodch-"

"Whoa, whoa! Wait! What's a woodchuck?"

"Huh? Oh, it's a woodland creature from this anime I was watching one day. It's called Animals, or something like that." She shrugged lightly.

"Animals? What a weird name…"

"Tell me about it. Anyway, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

"I don't know. A lot?" he asked with a confused expression.

"No you silly. You're supposed to say it." She grinned, pinching his nose. He flinched and instinctively rubbed it even though it didn't really hurt.

"How's this going to help?" he asked. All of the sudden he was feeling a little less confident in her teaching methods. Not that she hadn't been pretty good so far it's just…well…

"Do not question the master. Tongue twisters help the words flow more smoothly from your mouth." She explained.

"Really? I thought were just hard to say."

"That too. But remember what I said about practice? Trust me on this, okay?" he couldn't help but frown just a bit. But it lasted only for a moment as he let the alliteration of words come out of his mouth in a jumble mess of 'chucks and woods.' All in all it was a fail on his part.

"Unacceptable! Do it again!" she chided.

"How much wood could a chuck chuckwood if he chucked the wood?" his tone was full of uncertainty especially at the look on her face in response to his second failure.

"Again!"

"How much wood could a woodchuck wood-"

"Again!"

"How much-"

"Pikapi!" both turned their attention to Pikachu who had quickly jumped onto of Ash's hand pointing his paw at the field where the last battle of the first round was taking place without their knowledge. Bulbasaur had also taken refuge in May's lap after the electric type's outburst.

"What is it Pikachu?" Ash asked. His gaze followed fell on the field below where a scarily familiar fellow was standing, commanding an also familiar pokémon.

"How surprising." May commented. Of course, she thought, it was only natural for Harley to participate after hearing of her entry with Ash especially after she so rudely insulted him. He had a sick knack for trying to extract revenge on her every chance he got.

"What is that guy's problem?" Ash asked, beginning to feel the after effects of the two hot dogs he had eaten, or maybe it was the anxiety that kept sliding down his throat and mixing with his digestive system. Whatever it was that was going on down there it wasn't pretty.

"He's obsessed with me."

"Eh?"

"Though it's not a healthy obsession. I mean, really, is there such thing as a healthy?" she suddenly got off topic though Ash remained concernedly on it.

"May, that's not good."

"Hm? It's not a big deal." She waved him off in favor of watching the battle but he didn't seemed to be all right with letting the conversation go just yet.

"It is a big deal! Obsessions are weird and dangerous! That _guy_ is weird and dangerous!" he exclaimed and for the second time today May was rightfully surprised by his utter, pure, concern for her general well-being.

"Why Ash, I had no idea you cared." She understood that he was taking this talk very seriously and that part of her should've been doing the same. And the while the opportunity to rattle her traveling partner would no doubt present itself again, she couldn't help doing it.

"Huh? I-I…" he paused in his rambling to see the beginning's a sly smile curving at the corners of her lips. Saying the woodchuck thing in his head repeatedly and remembering everything she told him, Ash cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. He was going to get it right this time.

"How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood!" Though it definitely wasn't the response she had been expecting from him, it was entertaining all the same. And that was clearly evident in the way sweet laughter practically poured out of her mouth as she clenched her smiling grass type to her chest. And Ash was able to smile to, for multiple reasons, but mostly because he was able to trigger amusement out of her that wasn't stemmed from his embarrassment.

"Very good! I knew you had it in you." She praised, giving him a bright smile. He smiled back, happy with his results and happy that she was able to give him praise even if it was for such a small reason. Pikachu traveled from the corn of his head to his lap where he stared up at his trainer quietly as if asking him a question. Ash considered his gaze for a moment before turning towards May.

"I do care about you, May." He said. "I'm glad we've become friends."

"I…I am too." Her voice was rather hesitant. For she sensed the sincerity in his voice. It was pure and full of meaning and if she was being honest with herself it was flattering. But scary at the same time.

"Heh, are you flustered May?" he teased.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter is earlier than normal, hence it's shortness. But I love it all the same. In fact, I think this is my favorite chapter. Maybe that's why you get it on Thursday instead of having to wait until Friday. I guess this is also me apologizing for chapter nine being almost two days late. So enjoy this on!

There was no battle this chapter but we did get a lot of advanceshipping friendship moments that are so cute they should be criminal. I just love how May messes with Ash's character. It does my heart good to see these two youngsters playing together. But Harley strikes again! And who is his partner? You will definitely find out next time. And I know at least one of you will be upset about it. I apologize in advance! It's not my fault!

Thanks goes to: **Katherine Loves Kisses, XxMuffinSlayerxX, DavidShawnMichael, Maximus Artilius, MAD- The Awesomeman, PurpleRock, Lady Lauren, and the anonymous reviewers!**

Next chapter should be right on schedule, no more early or late realizes as far as I'm concerned. So you shall hear from me next Friday! See you then!

Krystal


	11. Chapter 11

_"Didn't you know? Chocolate is the gateway to all things bright and beautiful."_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

* * *

_"Where do you learn this stuff?"_

* * *

Chapter 11

The closing of the fourth battle found May seated on that same bleacher, staring forlornly into her empty popcorn bucket while keeping a close eye on Bulbasaur and Pikachu who seemed to be ignoring her depressed state. Ash had left about a minute ago to use the restroom. A sigh escaped her lips while her eyes landed on the field below where Harley was prancing about the area, obviously satisfied with his victory.

And as if it couldn't get any more awkward, he threw his arms around his unsuspecting partner who looked repulsed at the idea of being paired with him let alone hugged. All in all it was quite amusing almost to the point where she nearly forgot about her sugar craving for the moment.

Even when they first met Harley always had this thing about him that caused May to go into awful fits of laughter. She supposed that's why he first began to resent her. Eventually they simmered down into tiny chuckles here and there. But his resentment only got worse when she continuously bested him in contest after contest after Grande Festival. He managed to one up her just once but even that wasn't enough. No one likes to be considered a joke to their rival.

She never thought he was a joke…ok she did but it was a quality that seemed to suit him. Especially since he wore all his emotions on the sleeves of that God awful Cacturne jacket he adored so much. He was easy to read, predictable, yet able to come with elaborate schemes to discredit her. But they somehow always managed to fall through in the end leaving him feeling bitterer and her feeling strangely entertained.

Because, as weird and deranged as it sounds, he was one of the reasons why she continued to compete in contests. No matter what she went through, she could always count on Harley to make things awkwardly interesting. There was never a dull moment with that guy and part of her was looking forward to whatever plot he was devising now. Harley is always up to something.

Ash soon returned looking rightfully refreshed and relieved. He literally dashed to the toilet, even forgetting Pikachu in his frantic state. May spared him a glance and resisted the urge to punch him as he plopped down next to her, sighing heavily with his head thrown back.

"Ouch!" he flinched.

"Resistance is futile." She muttered quietly to herself, staring at her fist strangely. Ash cocked a brow at her random act of violence. Just when he thought he had her figured out, she had to go and make herself all complicated again.

"Harley won his match." She said. "There's a high chance that we will be facing him in the final round."

"Yeah? We'll just have to give it our best then!" May looked over again and this time she had to resist smiling. He wore this pure look of determination on his face and it was a close tie between admirable and adorable. Very close.

"I love this optimism of yours." She said. He looked over with a cheeky grin before their names were called to come down to the field for the beginning to the second round. Pikachu hopped to his usual spot while May scooped up her grass type as they made their way down the steps. Of course, who else did they meet on their way down but Harley and his sulking partner.

"Hello there Ash and May! Funny seeing you two here!" he called with the fluttery wave. Ash instinctively recoiled behind the smiling brunette as lavender haired fellow approached the pair.

"Hilarious." She replied, laughing on the inside at his twitching left eye. She chanced a glance at the guy behind him and an apologetic look developed on her face. The poor soul looked absolutely miserable and a tad angry. She felt bad for the guy. But apparently Harley noticed her staring and got a little defensive.

"I see you've noticed my fabu partner here. Don't get any ideas now, this one's all mine!" He said, placing his hands on the guy's shoulders. The latter flinched away, his face turning an odd shade of green before he grit his teeth in frustration.

"Quit touching me!" came the surprising shout. He huffed, rightfully embarrassed before turning to May and a slightly put off Ash. "He tricked me! He said there were no single matches! I don't want to be partnered with this guy but I won't forfeit!"

"Yeah! Never give up!" Ash piped up, suddenly pumped up by the guy's mini tirade. He approached him with his hand held out and a wide grin on his face. "Ash."

"Orange." The gesture was complete, leaving the two of them smiling and looking like they were in their own little world while May and Harley were stuck in the role of being spectators. Which didn't last long as Harley loved being the center of attention and always somehow managed to get May tangled up in his ridiculous messes.

"Oh he's exaggerating! I just made a simple mistake, anyone could've done it." He said, feigning innocence.

"I'm hurt, hun." May said in a mocking gesture. "We've know each other for so long and you still think me to be this gullible?"

"Why, of course not! Never in a million years, May darling." He replied and May was rightful satisfied by the way he played right into her waiting hands, taking the bait like a starving Magikarp.

"Thought so. Come on Ash, our match is starting." And she left him with his mouth wide open, eyes watching her retreating form as she patted Orange on the shoulder, muttering something along the lines of 'Stay strong'. It wasn't until she was out of site that he threw a tantrum that would be a Loudred to shame.

"Ugh!" the tissue was a plain sight and he was biting it like it was his job. Orange backed away even further, completely disturbed by the fellow and how they'd be battling together in the next match. But part of him was happy since he'd found a decent opponent in Ash.

"We are going to destroy them! Understand?" he said, hands on his shoulders again.

"Finally we agree on something." He rolled his eyes, excitement building. He didn't know about the destroying part but he was definitely looking forward to facing off against the raven haired boy.

"I thought I told you to stop touching me."

* * *

Ash and May went off onto their respective battle against an elderly couple who used Donphan and Altaria. It was a pretty good match up considering everyone had some kind of type advantage and disadvantage. But the couple was obviously seasoned battlers and even with the type advantage it was promising to be a difficult battle.

May used Bulbasaur mostly on defense, making good use of protect but also relying on Vine Whip to dodge and attack. Donphan used mostly close range attacks like Rollout and Slam, making good use of its uniquely designed body. Even if May did have the plus of Bulbasaur being a grass type, its lack of grass type attacks were proving to be bit of a hindrance.

Ash, on the other hand, was having a ball while still being under the attack of this flying-dragon type. He also had the advantage but attacks like Dragon Pulse were giving him a real run for his money. Not mention Pikachu had to keep it distracted enough from attacking Bulbasaur who was having trouble all on its own. Things turned around in their favor when Altaria became paralyzed by one of Pikachu's electric attacks.

"Hey Ash," May called. "Let's take down Donphan while Altaria's paralyzed."

"I have a plan. Leave it to me!"

May followed his lead while Ash commanded Pikachu to switch opponents. Donphan was just about to roll Bulbasaur's way in the middle of a Rollout when May called out a strong Vine Whip which prompted Bulbasaur to intertwine its two vines into what looked like a rope. While this was happening, Pikachu was coming in fast with a quick attack. Bulbasaur used the vines to cross Donphan's path, propelling it upwards and right into a smashing Iron Tail, courtesy of Pikachu.

Donphan was out of commission but their victory was short lived once an unexpected Aerial Ace from Altaria knocked Bulbasaur back a few feet. May quickly called for Synthesis while Pikachu went on the offense but often missing due to Altaria's tricky flight patterns.

Ash grit his teeth in frustration. It was easy to win a battle when the odds were on your side but it was frustrating when you couldn't land a hit. But he supposed it was the need for quick thinking that made battling so exhilarating. You never know the outcome and someone with the disadvantage could easily turn things around in their favor.

"No turning back now. Pikachu use quick attack!" he said. May stood off to the side, watching Ash and thinking of a way to defeat the cloud like pokémon. Any number of attacks from Altaria could easily knock Bulbasaur out, type advantage or not. So there has to be a way to overcome that and end up on top.

"Altaria, Sky Attack!"

"Such intensity." May said. Sky Attack is known strictly for its sheer power. It's the strongest flying type attack yet and truly a sight to see. Absolutely perfect for contests. But in this setting, it is to be feared.

"I've got this May, don't worry."

"You sound so sure." She said.

"Pikachu has a history of taking down big birds. Even when the odds were against us, he always pulled through." He said. And the way he spoke about his pokémon made May believe in his battling abilities just a little more.

Altaria was glowing brightly, charging up for what promised to be a devastating attack should it hit. It was clear who the real target was so Pikachu was stationed protectively in front of Bulbasaur, gathering huge amounts of electricity in his cheeks. Soon he was cloaked entirely in static, stationed on all fours and ready to attack. Ash called a combination of Quick Attack and Volt Tackle just as Altaria was cruising down.

Pikachu shot off at a blinding speed, electricity quickly building up and surrounding him completely, leaving nothing but a trail of static in its wake. Its opponent was veering in close and soon they would collide. At the last second, Pikachu propelled himself upward, ramming itself right into Altaria, feeling both the brunt of the Sky Attack and his own tackle. Luckily, Bulbasaur was able to catch his soaring form just in time to save him from further damage.

Altaria wasn't as lucky, hitting the ground hard as it struggled to raise its body. The efforts were in vain for it soon became slack signaling the end of the first battle in the second round. May gave a sigh of relief while Ash cheered loudly, running onto the field to praise both Pikachu and Bulbasaur. They were plenty worn out by the match but were obviously happy with the results.

"You two make a pretty awesome team." Ash commented while they were on their way to the healing booth for the second time that day. May nodded in agreement while Bulbasaur gave off a face of bashfulness. Pikachu just rested silently in Ash's hair, enjoying its softness and anticipating the healing he would be getting pretty soon.

"How'd you get your Bulbasaur, May?" Ash asked as they handed over their pokémon. May hummed thoughtfully before twirling a lock of her hair.

"I was travelling with Brendan at the time when my Skitty suddenly let itself out. And then this Skarmory came out of nowhere to attack. It kind of kidnapped me and dropped over this huge wall." She said.

"Kidnapped?"

"Yeah, it was all very strange. Turns out that wall was like a boundary surrounding all this land reserved specially for a grass type pokémon who weren't all that fond of people. Just as I was let down, Bulbasaur was about to fall off a cliff and I saved it." She explained.

"I remember that place. It's on the way the Fortree, isn't it?"

"Yeah, if you're going in that particular direction, it is. Anyway, these angry pokémon came out of nowhere and just started attacking me but Bulbasaur was able to stop them long enough for me to get away. It was all real freaky and surreal. I had never been attacked by pokémon like that before."

"…"

"Ah but then Brendan kinda sorta came to my rescue. He begged with the Park Ranger guys to let him inside so he could find me. It took him a whole day and by that time any normal person would've gone insane. I was hiding for the most part, using Torchic for protection and secretly getting berries from Bulbsaur. By the time he found me, I was hysterical but I didn't want to leave Bulbsaur behind so it came with me."

"Ah that's so cool!" Ash replied.

"What? The part where I was kidnapped? Or the part where I was attacked?" it was an honest question but Ash was still struggling with her bluntness.

"Uhm, none of those. I was talking about you and Bulbasaur. Seems like it really cared about you." He smiled.

"Loving is how I would describe Bulbasaur. And it makes sense, you know? There's a spot shaped like a heart on its forehead!" she said, poking in the space between his eyebrows. He flinched a bit at the surprising gesture but smiled all the same, amused by her quirkiness.

"You're so weird." Ah, that wasn't supposed to come out. And judging by the look of shock on her face, she wasn't expecting that either.

"I…I had no idea you felt that way…" she answered, tone suddenly sad and eyes downcast.

"You're not fooling me this time, May." She quickly straightened and turned her back on him.

"I'm going to buy more kettle corn." And she stalked off, leaving Ash to watch her retreating figure. He sighed, scratching his head awkwardly. He really hadn't meant to call her weird, it just slipped out on accident. Part of him felt like she wasn't really affected by it but another part knew, somehow, that she was.

"What is wrong with me?"

* * *

**A/N:** It's still Friday, isn't it? I'm really sorry guys. I hope no one was waiting in anticipation for this but it's here now and that's all that matters!

So let's see, what happened in this chapter? May assesses her relationship with Harley and comes to terms with being unable to resist punching Ash. Let's be honest guys, hasn't there been a person who you just want to punch sometimes? Not because they're a jerk but…whatever!

I must apologize to Shiny Gengar for pairing your OC with Harley. No one, real or not, should have to deal with that fool. I'm sorry! Don't hate me! DX Next you get another battle from me. From my experience in playing pokémon, old people are tough to beat and they like cruises. This is a combination of the two. I shortened the battle to just descriptions kind of see what you guys thought of this style. Let me know which is more readable.

Thank goes to: **DavidShawnMichael, Nauran, MAD- The Awesomeman, The Shiny Gengar, Katherine Loves Kisses, PAS-15, gaffro, Midnightmoon602, Ayatane Elemia, Lady Lauren, Pure Arua, and DarthWill3.**

Next chapter with be the final match of the Tournament as well as the addressing of May's insomnia and some ground breaking advanceshipping. You really don't want to miss it. It'll be great! Lastly, I've done some fanart for this wonderful pairing and you guys should check it out if you have the time. It's on deviantart and my user name is the same. That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you in 12!

Krystal


	12. Chapter 12

"_Talking to yourself is the first is sign of insanity."_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By: KrystalClear101

* * *

"_So I'm insane?"_

* * *

Chapter 12

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen, for enduring through this absolutely riveting double battle pokémon tournament! Without further delay we are about to begin the final round! Please give a hearty welcome to our four marvelous trainers!" Shouts, cries, screams, yells, all forms of cheering sounded through the outdoor battlefield, triggered by the announcer and the sheer excitement from the entire ordeal about to take place.

"In the red corner we have Kanto's own Ash Ketchum of Pallet with his lovely partner, the Princes of Hoenn herself, May Maple!" The respective trainers stepped onto the field, waving and smiling, with their chosen pokémon on their person.

"And housed in the blue corner the infamous Harley along with his ever humble, albeit reluctant, partner Orange!" Harley waved wildly at the crowd, blowing kisses while Orange stared out across the field at his opponents while adjusting his wrists bands and tie.

"Now trainers, let's give this great audience a battle worthy of the 10th Annual Regional Cruise Tour! Release your pokémon!"

"My lovely Cacturne! Let's give them a show they'll never forget!" Harley was first, tossing a familiar red and white ball into the air and smiling once the bright light released his team favoritie, Cacturne. Immediately half the crowd became silent at its appearance. Cacturne was known far and wide for its strange and outright creepy nature. It was a completely different ball game seeing it up close and personal.

"This isn't a contest. All right Gengar, come on out!" Orange followed suit after reprimanded Harley' minor slip up. Materializing next to Cacturne was the ghost-poison type pokémon. However, this was unlike any Gengar the crowd or anyone else had ever seen before. Its ghost-like coating was remarkably shinier and darker tinted than that of any normal Gengar. It stood still, menacing grin plaster perfectly while it piercing crimson eyes gazed across the field at the other trainers, specifically their pokémon.

"Whoa, is that what they call a shiny pokémon?" Ash asked, thoroughly intrigued by Orange's pokémon. The latter trainer nodded rather proudly in response, gazing at Gengar's back with a nostalgic glance.

"Cacturne's looking a lot creepier than I remember, Harley. What'd you do to it?" May asked, crouching to let Bulbasaur out of her arms and onto the field where Pikachu was already standing.

"You know me, doll. Nothing but the best for my fabulous Cacturne. What's the matter? Is little May afraid of my big bad Cacky-Poo?" he said making Poochyena eyes at her. But May just smiled, tilting her head to the side as she did so.

"Not at all. I actually think it's a rather _cute_ kind of creepy."

"Cacturne…" the dark-grass type blushed lightly, shuffling in place rather bashfully at May's declaration much to his trainers chagrin.

"No! Cacturne! You must focus!" Harley scolded.

"May we start?" came an obviously eager Orange. The referee took his place on the outside of boundaries of the field and signaled for the match to begin. On cue, all for pokémon fell into the correct stances for battle, waiting for the trainers to call out the first commands.

"Go Gengar, use Sucker Punch!"

"Protect."

"Use Quick Attack, Pikachu!"

"Needle Arm, Cacturne!"

And the battle had begun with Gengar going in for a close range attack, one that was easily deflected by Bulbsaur's ultimate defense mechanism. It being a fruitless effort, Gengar hopped back to its respective side of the field, waiting for Protect to die down and for further instructions from Orange. On the other side, the dark patches on Cacturne's arms glowed brightly before shooting off in random directions. Pikachu used Quick Attack to dip in and out of the dangerous traffic before hopping on top of Cacturne' head.

"Dirty paws! Get your dirty paws off of Cacturne!"

"Thunder Pikachu!"

"Pi-ka-chu!" Currents of electricity erupted from the spots on Pikachu's cheeks, spark flying in every direction but most of it was centered on Cacturne who cried out in pain. Pikachu flipped back to Ash's side, ready for the next attack.

Harley was reeling at how the rodent hopped on Cacturne so nonchalantly. It was downright disrespectful.

"It's time for you to learn some manners! Cacturne Scary Face!" As if Cacturne's appearance only was enough to give the crowd the shivers. It's already creepy face turned much scarier, shock Pikachu into a frozen state. It cooed shakily, attempting to back away.

"He's just trying to psych you out Pikachu!" Ash called from the trainer's box.

"You've got that right! Bullet seed!" Taking advantage of his current inability to move, Cacturne fired a series of bullet like seeds right in Pikachu's direction. This caught May's attention while she was awaiting Orange's next attack. Seeing Pikachu like a sitting Psyduck didn't sit right with her.

"Bulbsaur, go! Use Vine Whip!" She instructed. Bulbasaur took off to where Pikachu was.

"Not so fast! Psychic, Gengar!" Before it could reach, Bulbasaur was suddenly floating in midair, glowing a light blue while Gengar stood with its hands stretch outwards, eyes glowing the same eerie blue.

"Your opponent is me. Ash and Pikachu can take care of themselves." Orange said. May frowned at him before switching her attention to Pikachu who had been struck with the attack, managing to snap out of his fearful state in the process. Ash called for him to shake off and get back into the fight. The two seemed fine enough for May to focus on her match with the ghost-type.

"You may be right." She said with a strange smile. Orange nodded and, without reservation, had Gengar fling Bulbasaur across the field. May called for Vine Whip to cushion the fall.

"Frenzy Plant." Bulbasaur glowed a bright green thick roots began shooting out of the ground all over the field, even interrupting Harley and Ash's battle. Orange was a bit startled, hearing an attack come from a small pokémon. How could Bulbasaur be capable of an attack reserved specifically for its final evolution.

"Shadow Ball!" Dark energy began gathering at Gengar's palm, around the size of a beach balls, before it fired off in the direction of the roots, clearing out a few of them. Orange grit his teeth at the lack of results while racking his brain to think of a different attack, much like Ash was doing on the other side.

The Frenzy Plant came as a surprise for both him and Harley but it didn't really change the course of the match. It was evident that he was at a disadvantage, Pikachu's electric attacks not even doing half the damage on a pokémon like Cacturne. In this situation, having a bug, flying, or fire type would've been more helpfully.

"All right Pikachu, use the roots to sneak up on Cacturne!"

"Nice try! Cacturne, cut them down!" The cactus pokémon extended the patches on his arms into blades. Running at the cuts, he sliced them down by the bunches, leaving little to no space for Pikachu to hide in. But Pikachu was one step ahead. He managed to get behind Cacturne.

"Iron Tail!" Ash called. Pikachu hopped of his hind legs and smacked his glowing tail right into Cacturne's back, sending him hurtling forward into the remains of the fallen roots. Harley snarled, clearly dissatisfied with the result of his attack.

"Faint Attack!" Suddenly Cacturne disappeared from sight.

"Focus Pikachu! Sniff him out!" Ash called worried. He knew the logistics of Faint Attack and how easy it was to be fooled by it. Pikachu stiffened its body and heightened his senses. Just as he felt Cacturne behind him, it attacked relentlessly. Pikachu slid across the field next to a winded Bulbasaur who was busy dodging Shadow Balls.

"How are things on your end, May?" Ash asked in between calling out commands.

"They could be better. You?"

"Same." He replied. Ash gazed out on the field at each pokémon. He noticed how all four were plenty worn out from the battle so far. He surmised that it would soon be coming to an end. But, much like all battles, there needed to be a turning point. An _epic_ turning point. Something that would indefinitely decide the winners.

'_But what can we do?'_ He thought to himself. Harley had ordered Cacturne to use Needle Arm, which Pikachu blocked with Iron Tail while Bulbasaur summoned Protect as a shield from Gengar's Dark Pulse. It seemed that for every attack that was called there was a way to counter it leaving the battle at a stalemate until one team's pokémon faint from fatigue.

'_No one wants it to end that way, though…' _It was frustrating but he couldn't help but feel a little elated. Battles that caused the trainer to step outside the box, out of their comfort zone, were the ones that he loved the most. The ones that really got his blood flowing. This was one of those battles. And it was all the more challenging know that he was battling alongside a person like May.

They were a team.

'_A team…a team! That's it! We're a team!'_ Yeah, they were a team and in order to be successful, they had to work as one. That was the advantage they had over Harley and Orange.

"May let's attack together." He said suddenly. May gave him a questioning glance, searching for his reason behind the suggestion in his eyes. They held confidence and certainty but mostly, they held trust. Even if it was small, it was still there. And it was startling to say the least. But she supposed now was probably the wrong time to question it, but rather she should accept it for what it was.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked in response to his suggestion. Ash then went onto explain how the two of them should work together in order to come out victorious. And May listened intently to what he had to say and all the strategies he talked. From the sound of it, he really knew what he was talking about. She also based his credibility off his known Champion status and watching him in action during their previous matches. Even with a single Pikachu on his team, he just held such confidence.

"Let's do this. Go Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash called out suddenly. Pikachu followed suit, dashing from their side of the field to where the opposing team is.

"Back up Pikachu, Bulbsaur." The grass type ran after Pikachu quickly, it's vines extending outwards.

"They're up to something." Harley sneered.

"Dark Pulse, Gengar!" Orange called.

"Double Team!" Ash retaliated and soon there were visions of Pikachu's all across the field, each one vanishing at the touch of dark energy.

"Stop that Pikachu Cacturne! Bullet Seed!" Cacturne, again, launched lethal sides at the still sprint electric type. But as Bulbasaur was providing back up, they were diverted by vines blocking the way.

"Iron Tail on Gengar, Pikachu!"

"Leech Seed." Just as Pikachu closed in to attack, Gengar became seed, periodically zapping its energy and sending it back to Bulbsaur. After the Iron Tail hit, Gengar responded with a Shadow Ball sending Pikachu careening through the air. Harley used this opportunity to hit Pikachu was Bullet Seed which was, again, blocked by Vine Whip.

"Vine Whip on Cacturne." Suddenly green vines wrapped all around Cacturne, holding it in place.

"What?"

"Go Pikachu! Thunder!" The electricity surged from the small mouse and directly hit Cacturne, shocking him, while the currents followed the path of the vines and zapped Bulbasaur. May cringed at the sound of Bulbasaur's cries but pressed on.

"Into Gengar, Bulbasaur!" May called. Gritting its teeth, Bulbasaur used it Vines to slam Cacturne into Gengar, managing to shock the both of them since the attack was still going. It removed its vines and was instantly revitalized thanks to Leech Seed. Pikachu moved next to Bulbasaur as they waited for attacks from the opposing team.

But they never came.

"What? Cacturne why aren't you moving?" Harley asked, looking a Cacturne's immobile form as the occasional shock ran across it. Orange growled in frustration at the sudden situation and the anticipated outcome of the battle.

"They're paralyzed. Ash knew the electric attacks wouldn't do much damage. His aim was paralyze them, not hurt them." He explained.

"But it came at a price." Looking over at the other side of the field, Bulbsaur was having the same problem. It was struggling to stand on its own two feet, body shaking and twitching every now and then.

"Hang in there Bulbasaur. Use Frenzy Plant!"

"Bulba…!" it growled loudly, it legs planted firmly on the field while its eyes glowed that familiar green, summoning roots from the ground. They sprouted all the around the field, trapping the paralyzed Cacturne and Gengar.

"Needle Arm, Cacturne! Come on!" Harley urged, feeling the severity of the battle.

"Fight it Gengar! Shadow Ball!" Orange was doing much the same. Instead, more energy was zapped from it and sent to a shaky Bulbsaur.

"Let's finish this Pikachu! Volt Tackle full power!" Ash commanded. Much like the first battle of the first round, Pikachu dashed across the field, collecting electricity and chanting his name. And the two pokémon on the other side had to steel themselves, not looking forward to what was coming next. Cacturne still couldn't move, resigning to its fate. Gengar, on the other hand, made one last attempt at a Shadow Ball but it was only absorbed by the massive volts before Pikachu slammed into the both of them. Impacted created a massive explosion, destroying the roots and throwing Pikachu back to the other side of the field.

Once the smoke cleared, Pikachu was left standing in front of Bulbsaur while Cacturne lying motionless on one side of the field and Gengar was several feet away in much the same condition.

"Cacturne and Gengar are unable to battle. Pikachu and Bulbasaur are the winners making Ash and May Double Battle Tournament Champions!" The crowed was explosive will cheers as Ash and May were declared the winners. Pikachu jumped into Ash's arm while the latter breathed a sigh of relief. May smiled brightly at her Bulbasaur before picking it up and holding it in her arms tightly, petting its head in slow strokes.

"Gengar return. You did great." Orange whisper to his fallen partner before chancing at glance at his partner who seemed to be very upset over the loss. He rolled his eyes at the strange fellow before moving to the other side of the field.

"Hey Ash that was an awesome battle, man." He said with a small smile, reaching out to shake his hand. Ash responded much the same way, giving his former opponent a firm handshake.

"Same here. We should definitely battle again sometime." Orange nodded. They exchanged numbers and Ash waved off his new friend before turning to May or what would've been May had she still been standing there. His eyes searched the general area until they fell upon a head of brown hair going in the direction of the medical tent.

He quickly followed after her, suddenly having much the same idea, paying no attention to the grumbling Harley on the other side, much to his annoyance. Instead he followed after May with concern. She left without a word, probably concerned about Bulbasaur as it did take a few bad hits during that last battle. He caught up with her just as she handed Bulbsaur over to Nurse Joy.

"Hey," he tapped her on the shoulder before also giving Pikachu to the Nurse. May regarded him with a smile. The two of them just stood in silence while they're pokémon were healed. Ash leaned across the makeshift tent while May twirled her hair absentmindedly. For some reason, things were suddenly awkward between the two of them. It was moments like these that he didn't really know how to talk to girls.

"So uh," he started.

"Let's go eat. I'm hungry." She said suddenly. Well that was easy.

"Okay!"

* * *

After a much deserved dinner, constantly interrupted by new fans, Ash and May returned to their suite to rest. May retreated to the bathroom while plopped down on the bed, falling on his back with a heavy sigh. His eyes stared up at the ceiling while Pikachu curled up against his side. It had been a super long day from the moment he opened his eyes until now. But it had also been a good day.

"That battle was so awesome." He whispered to himself. He had forgotten how strong Hoenn trainers were. Especially that Harley character. He may've been a weirdo like no other but he was a pretty good battler. Not to mention that Cacturne of his was super powerful. He had a feeling that if he and Orange had bonded as partners they would've been much tougher opponents.

"Can't forget about May, though." At that he smiled. To be honest, he was very surprised at how well May battled. Especially after hearing about how she didn't even like pokémon. He had to admit he was a little worried but things turned out much better than expected, especially after she kept pulling out moves and attacks from nowhere. That Bulbasaur of hers was really something.

"Bathroom's open." Her voice travelled from the bathroom to where he was as she excited and came walking in, drying her hair with a towel. Her normal straight brunette locks were damp and curly, especially around her ears. Normally he wouldn't pay much attention to girls when they came out of the bathroom, he was too busy being angry about how long they took.

But now, well this was different somehow. Watching her work that towel through her hair was…it was captivating. And for the life of him he couldn't understand why.

"Ash," May called in a sing-song voice. And all of the sudden his mouth went dry and he felt strangely hot. His eyes never left hers as she draped the towel over his shoulders and moved to standing in front of his sitting form.

"You're doing it again." She said as he finger jabbed him in the forehead and turned around to another part of the room. He swallowed loudly, refusing to look at her lest he start to feel weird again. He wasn't sure he liked feeling that way. To avoid any more strangeness he retreated to the bathroom to shower.

Unbeknownst to him May was smiling as she took his spot on the bed, continuing to dry her hair. She truly enjoyed the reactions she got out of Ash. He was unlike any other person she had ever been with before. He was very vocal, often saying exactly what was on his mind no matter what it was. He was also strangely innocent and naïve about a lot of things. She supposed that's why he had so many questions about love.

And if she was honest, she hadn't really enjoyed herself like this in a really long time. She felt like she could be herself around Ash. Even though he was surprised by most of the things she did, it was a good surprised. It was refreshing, amusing, entertaining. It was cute.

Ash soon came out of the bathroom, also drying his hair but in more of hasty fancy. When he entered the room, May was deep beneath the covers and had them pulled up all the way to her neck. It was a rather funny scene, if he was honest. The mood had lightened significantly from before and he felt very comfortable. Maybe it was the shower, he didn't know, but he was so ready for bed.

He flicked off the lights before climbing into bed alongside her. It took him a couple seconds to get comfortable. He tossed and turned for a few second before finding the best position to the sleep in. By the time he was ready to sleep, felt May moving beside him. He turned over to see her pushing the covers back and standing. He feigned sleep but had one eye cracked open, watching her form as she left the room.

'_Where's she going?' _ he thought. He too pushed back the sheets and stood slowly. He gave Pikachu a fleeting look before silently following after her. Where was she going? It was getting pretty late and even if they were on a cruise in the middle of the sea, it could be potentially dangerous. But not only that it was time to sleep and she was up walking around.

'_Maybe this has something to do with her insomnia…' _were his thoughts when he caught her leaning against the railing of the back of the ship. The cool night sea air was brushing through her hair when light from the moon cascaded down on the ship and directly on her. It was her own personal spotlight, her own stage. And he was a member of the audience, a spectator. And in a lot of ways, that was how he truly felt.

He was a spectator. He wasn't a part of the show, but merely someone who watched and reacted to things. And he wasn't even an important watcher; he could barely even follow what was going on. No, May was the main attraction, the star of her stage. It was a one woman performance but it seem like it wasn't meant to be that way. It looked like more people should've been there with her. She didn't look _right_ alone.

"May," she turned as soon as she heard him approach.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, leaning next to her. She nodded, brushing a stray strand behind her ear. He hummed in response, not sure what to do next. Much like pokémon battles, his strategies usually popped up in his head as he went along. He just hoped he could think of something decent to say to her.

"Why are you doing this, Ash?" she asked out of the blue.

"Huh? Uh I was just wondering if I could help you fall asleep." He answered.

"Sleep? No I meant…you—you were going to help me?" she asked. She was taken aback by his honest answer to her question. She was really asking why he was looking for love but hi answer was startling.

"Well, yeah. I mean you-"

"Don't feel like you have to because I'm travelling with you." She said with a slightly stern look.

"I don't! I mean," he cleared his throat, trying to keep from getting flustered. And May could tell he was working really hard to do so.

"I mean I just want to help. Because we're friends." And he smiled a sweet smile that left her nearly breathless. It was so genuine and free of malice and just plain nice. She had nearly forgotten what a real smile looked like and the effort it took to get one.

"Well," she started, moving away from the rail to walk in the direction they came from. Ash watched her curiously until she turned around and gave him a breathtaking smile.

"Help me then, Ash Ketchum."

* * *

**A/N:** Is this my longest chapter? I think it is! It's almost 4,000 words! Ah that's so awesome. So I took a week off, that's why you didn't get a chapter last week. But hopefully content and quantity will make if for it. The advanceshipping is worth the wait guys! Totally worth it!

So Ash and May win the tournament, totally saw that coming, and what's this? Ash is going to help with the insomnia? What a guy, don't you just want to take him home? Any ideas about what Ash's plans are? He's up to something amazing!

Thanks goes to: **PurpleRock, MAD- The Awesomeman, DavidShawnMichael, Katherine Loves Kisses, DarthWill3, PAS-15, ZarianCreeper. You rock my socks! And I'm not even wearing any!**

Next chapter should be right on schedule. But please please please give me feedback! I'm still taking OC's BUT I need juicy reviews for motivation. Let me know if you liked it or if you didn't and why! Thank you all of you bunches for sticking with me! See you in chapter 13!

Krystal

P.S.: Excuse the abundance of mistakes, I will get to it tomorrow!


	13. Chapter 13

"_What do you think of when a girl cries?"_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By KrystalClear101

* * *

"_Honestly? It's the worst thing ever."_

* * *

Chapter 13

"Welcome to Dewford Island, the tiny island in the blue sea! We hope you'll enjoy the tours!" the intercom sounded but by that time Ash and May had already left the dock and were well on their way into two. Dewford was one of the many stops made by the cruise line. The sole purpose of the cruise was to give tourists and Hoenn natives a different view of the region.

Ash stretched his arms up high while letting yawn escape from his person. The pull of his muscles felt great in contrast with his slightly sluggish movements. The night before, much like the previous nights, had been spent with May trying, and failing, to cure her insomnia. Granted he had no idea what he was getting himself into but he really thought it would be much easier than it was.

Sure May had been a little confusing when they first met but sleep was sleep! He didn't understand why she just didn't close her eyes and just do it. But he supposed if it were that easy she would've done that already and there'd be no reason for him to be helping. Still, it was frustrating having all his attempts thrown back in his face.

He tried storytelling, counting Mareep, drinking warm Moomoo milk, just about everything he could think of. But nothing seemed to work. He was ready to give up but he had to remind himself that May was counting on him. He couldn't call it quits because of a few failures. What kind of friend would that make him? And besides, May seemed open to any and all ideas he proposed. He couldn't let her down.

"Although I think Olivine has the best beach, Dewford is the quaintest." May said as they happened upon the sandy beaches and little bit north of the main town. It was about midday that found the two of them stretching their sea legs, searching for potential girlfriends and new pokémon. With the less than successful attempts aboard the ship, May suggested Ash broaden his horizons a bit and try to work his charms on land.

"You think so?" he asked. She nodded, walking forward a bit before kicking off her shoes and dashing across the shore. Ash perked up at the sound of her random giggles, suddenly finding himself following her actions until he, too, took off running in the same direction.

Once he caught up, the two were left panting in front of the opening of what he remembered to be Granite Cave. It was a huge chasm filled fill many levels and dark pathways. He and Brock had gotten seriously lost when they first came to Dewford. Not one of his happiest times.

"Let's go." And she took off without waiting for a response from Ash. He ambled after her without protest while Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and took the lead on their little expedition. The cave itself was rather dim, the only light coming in from the opening and tiny cracks in the ceiling. Ash noted at the faint sound of water, remembering a source from the ocean entering at one part of the cave creating an oasis like setting. He wondered what paths they'd have to take to get there.

"You've been here before, right?" May asked, turning to face him.

"Yeah. Brock and I got lost in here actually. Took us three hours to find the exit." He explained with a sheepish expression.

"Hm. Did you get lost often?" she asked again.

"All the time! Especially on the mainland. There's so many forests!" he exclaimed with a smile and a frustrated one at that. Pikachu chanting along with his partner, reminiscing the many times they had ended up in the worst place all due to Brock's poor since of direction and Ash's adolescent impulsivity. Those were some good times, strangely.

"Guess it would've been nice to travel with a native, huh?" she said with a sly expression.

"Yeah, it's like your parents said. If we would've met back when I first came here, we probably would've travelled together." He said. But May looked at him strangely, continuing to walk as they came open a set of stairs embedded in the ground, leading to a lower level.

"But I'm not a native." She said, pointing to herself.

"You're not?"

"Nope! My family moved from Johto right before my tenth birthday." She said. And when he thought about it, she did mention something about her family moving around a lot in the past and how she wasn't really able to make friends which was an indirect cause of her disliking pokémon.

"I see…" he replied in a sort of quiet tone. He didn't really know how to reply to something like that, his mind reverting back to her previous feelings towards the strange creatures. Sure she used to feel like that but just having the feeling at all was appalling to him. Maybe not appalling, surprising, unthinkable, maybe outright impossible.

To him there were just so many great things about pokémon. They were helpful, great friends and partners, and just all around great to be around. He wondered what exactly happened on her journey to make her have a change of heart. Maybe she had a similar experience like he and Pikachu did on their first day. Looking back now it was kind of hard to believe that Pikachu didn't like him at all.

Just as he was about to speak up, Pikachu alerted their attention to a pokémon that had crossed their path. It was small with a very shiny back with little stubby legs. If Ash remembered correctly, it was an Aron. He recalled seeing a whole group of his first time in Granite Cave.

"What a cutie." May cooed as Aron stared up at her with big blue eyes. Pikachu stood at the ready, waiting for Ash to give out a command.

"An Aron, huh? Might as well build a new Hoenn team, right buddy?" Ash declared while Pikachu dashed in the direction of the Aron. But the dual steel/rock type stood its ground fired off a mud-slap just as Pikachu got within range. The mouse Pikachu recoiled from the hit, shaking its head free of the mud while Aron used the moment of the distraction to land a tackle attack.

"Wow it's a tough one! Shake it off Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Face still covered in mud, Pikachu ran at Aron once more and smack it with a glowing tail. Aron was hurtled backwards from the sheer force of the attack and was forced onto its back.

"Pokéball, go!" Confident in the battle, Ash tossed a red and white ball at the immobile pokémon and watched at it absorbed Aron in a bright red light. It began to wobble endlessly before a soft ping ran through the air. Smiling, Ash bent to pick up the newly captured pokémon before attaching the minimized ball to his belt.

"Nice catch." May complimented.

"Thanks." It had been a while since he caught a pokémon. It honestly felt good to get the chance at building a whole relationship. And with and rock and steel type no less. He didn't have many pokémon of that type. He was a little excited to expose Aron to the outside world of pokémon and—why were they in Granite Cave?

"Uh, May?" He started. She turned it him with a blank look, silently beckoning him to continue on with whatever he had to ask with a simple nod of her head.

"Why are we here?" he asked. May cracked a smile before racing ahead a bit. Out of nowhere she started feeling around the wall of the cave for something. He stayed back a few feet while Pikachu retreated to his shoulder, also wondering what May was up to.

"Found it!" She exclaimed. Ash watched with piqued interest as she pushed back a medium sized rock giving way to a small human sized hole in the wall. She waved her hand for him to follow as she crawled inside. He followed suit, getting on his hands and knees before crawling after her.

On the other side of the hole lay a large, brightly lit room ornately decorated with rugs, plushies, wall hanging and a small pc in the corner. All in all it was pretty amazing considering the location. It was hard to believe she could fit all of this stuff in here and have it hidden so well.

"Welcome to my secret base!" she exclaimed, showing off each and every piece of the room, offering him a seat on a small pokéball chair in front of a large pokéball table. Upon closer inspection he noticed a small television along with a mini fridge sitting next to it. May reached inside and pulled out two waters and threw one to him.

"Wow, this is really cool." He said, admiring the overall feel of the room.

"It has its perks. This is one of my larger ones." She said with a shrug.

"You have more than one?" he asked, thoroughly surprised by her statement.

"Yep! All over Hoenn!"

"How could you afford all this?" he asked with slight humor in his voice.

"Well Ash, if you must know, all those contests and Grande Festivals don't give out chump change. We're talking some serious cash! Though I'm sure you know what I mean mister Champion." She beamed, waving her finger at him with a wink of her eye.

"Yeah I guess you're right. So how many Grande Festival have won?" he asked.

"In total? Four. I've participated in about seven, though." She declared, balancing the cap of her water bottle on her nose. He hummed in response, resting his head in his palm while his eyes well to the table top below. Winning just one Grande Festival made her a Top Coordinator. What did winning four make her? A super Top Coordinator? It was kind of amazing.

"That's so awesome."

"Thanks…" she whispered lightly before treading over to the lone pc and typing on it. Ash watched her for a bit, wondering what she was doing all of the sudden, until she turned around to look at him with an analytical gaze. He cocked a brow for good measure when her tongue poked out at him and she whirled back around, continuing to type.

"So Ash," she began in between hitting the keys. He perked up at the sound of name while she turned around once more.

"Hm?"

"What would you do if the girl you really liked hated pokémon?" she asked.

"…what?"

"It's a realistic scenario. I just want to know how you would work to resolve it." Was her reasoning for asking the question. And was a bit taken aback by it. It just came out of nowhere. But now that it was brought up, he had to at least give a solid answer. What would he do? How would he react? It was tough. He loved pokémon with everything he had.

"I would," he paused to clear his throat. "I would do everything I could to help her see just how great pokémon are."

"And if you failed?"

"I wouldn't." he spoke with full confidence in his smile. May felt her mind reverting back to battling with Ash on the ship, remembering the confidence he held when facing off against Harley and Orange. It was confidence that was backed up by something that couldn't be taken down. Back then she believed it to be experience. Could this confidence possibly be backed up by the same thing?

"You wouldn't."

Maybe it was.

* * *

By the time Ash and May left the confines of the cave it was around dusk. The sun was beginning its daily decent beyond the horizon while dark clouds rolled in from the east, slow covering the vast orange sky. Ash sucked in a breath as a cold wind swept passed them on their way back the boat. They watched as the beach goers were steadily packing up their belongings, the wind picking up, causing umbrellas and towels to drift away with the breeze.

"Looks like it's going to storm pretty soon." May chimed in, her eyes glued to the lumpy clouds that neared closer with each passing minute. The two wasted no time in getting back to their rooms on the ship, making a quick stop at the on deck Pokémon Center for Ash's new Aron along the way. He was a little bummed about split from the little guy so soon but he figured a good rest was more necessary than hanging around in his pokéball all night.

Once back in the room, May busied herself with fixing something for them to eat. She said it would be better to eat inside since the storm would most likely ruin any and all chances of dining on the deck and walking to the hall would be a pain. Ash agreed, deciding to also preoccupying himself with cleaning while she cooked. He had never been much of a chef but he could clean like no other. His mother made sure of that.

While picking up stray garments, belonging to him of course, his mind began to wander. Instead of searching for the match to the sock in his hand he was thinking about tonight's insomnia plan. With all of his other attempts marked as failures there really wasn't much that he could do. But he supposed he wasn't being all that creative. He was really only suggesting what any normal person would do to sleep, aside from using medicinal aids.

Any normal person would talk themselves to sleep, count Mareep, drink something warm. And that's when he had a little bit of an epiphany. May wasn't just any normal person. There was nothing normal about her! No wonder he had failed, he was going about it all wrong. He had to look at it from a different point of view. To consider the abnormal and just run with it. To put himself in the place of an abnormal person and think, well, abnormally.

But how could he do that?

Those thoughts and ideas remained in his head for the remainder of the evening until night where he and May climbed into bed like they usually did. Only this time, he felt that this night they would reach a turning point. This night would be different. They would definitely make positive progress and maybe, just maybe, May would get to sleep.

"Turn around," he called as he, too, turned towards the center of the bed. May did as she was told and turned to face, her bottom lip tucked in as blue eyes peered up at him silently. And all of the sudden, some of his confidence was zapped away and he couldn't understand why. Just the sight of her staring him like that was doing weird things to him. His heart began hammering painfully in his chest and all of his senses were practically begging him to do something about it.

"What's it going to be tonight, Mr. Sandman?" it was a name she had given him after his first failed attempts. The playful reminder help a bit but he was still jumpy. He never felt this nervous before and the anxiety just came out of nowhere, stemmed from a place he had no idea even existed inside of him. He more he thought about it, the more his mind lingered on the anxiety, on the pain, the less he understood it. And the less he understood it, the more he feared it.

But he wanted to understand it and badly too. To point where he was willing to endure more of this throbbing to gain even an inkling of knowledge on his sudden spur of jitters.

"Ash…" he heard her call out his name when his head slow rose from the depths of the blankets, landing on the crown of her head, into slightly damp brown strands. His eyes followed the trail left by his fingers as they tangled themselves in her curly locks until the clipped ends slipped through his fingertips.

And then he started over.

"My mom," he whispered. "used to do this whenever I couldn't fall asleep." He explained. As he continued running his fingers through her hair he began to appreciate its softness. The way each strand uniquely curled around his fingers and how her hair wasn't a solid brown color. There were darker shades of brown, and lighter shades as well. They were even a couple pieces that looked blond. It was amazing to see and to touch.

"Oh," came her soft reply. She had been so quiet ever since he started that he was beginning to think that this could be it. This could be the solution. This could be the answer to her problem and she wouldn't have to worry about getting sleep to anymore.

"I want to try." Or not.

"Huh?" he said, freezing in mid stroke.

"I said I want to try." She repeated. Her eyes never left his as her hand mirrored his own, pausing right in front of his face, as if asking for permission. "May I?"

"Uh, sure."

* * *

**A/N:** Strange place to the end the chapter but I'm a strange person so it fits. I took another week off as you wonderfully smart people can tell. I may do that from time to time mostly because I don't want to give you a junk chapter. It works for the both of us don't you think?

So they have arrived in Dewford! Things are moving right along! Ash caught himself an Aron and May has a secret base! To my knowledge, Ash doesn't have many rock/steel types. Time to broaden your horizons ole boy! And I always wanted the anime to expand on the use of secret bases. If my memory serves correct, they were on Dewford island when they met that kid who had one, right? So it's all good!

Thanks go to: **Katherine Loves Kisses, PurpleRock, Brandorable, Mysocksarerockin101, Tbroome535, DavidShawnMichael****, ****Dzchan94, razor200972, MAD- The Awesomeman, VoltEagle, PAS-15, David Sturridge, The Shiny Gengar, hungergamesfanatic789, VoltEagle, and Kari Winters.**

Questions to answer in the review: Should Ash build a new Hoenn team? If so, which pokémon should he venture to catch? Where do you think the other locations of May's secret bases are?

As always, tell me what you thought about the chapter and answer those questions as you see fit. I will genuinely take your opinions and thoughts into consideration for further chapters! As always, thanks for being great readers and I'll see you all in chapter 14!

Krystal


	14. Chapter 14

_"You're just full of surprises, you know?"_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By KrystalClear101

* * *

_"People tell me I'm full of a lot of things."_

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

"Eh? What's this? Your hair is surprisingly soft." May exclaimed. After Ash granted her permission to explore his ravenous locks, she immediately sank her fingers into his mess of dark hair. Based on its daily wild appearance, she was expecting it to be rough, almost prickly like. Imagine her surprise when her fingers felt a soft, thick texture of hair.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked, a tad bit offended. He didn't particularly care about how his hair looked at times but he always took care of it. As best as he could, anyway.

"I just wasn't expecting that." She shrugged slightly, retracting her hand back to her person. Ash had pretty much done the same after she asked to touch his hair. So now they were left staring at each other silently, the only sounds being Pikachu's faint snoring at the foot of the bed and the fall of rain just outside their window.

Ash's eyes stayed glued to at least some part of May's face, but it was an absent stare. He wasn't really paying attention to the fact that he was staring right at her nose. No more than May was paying attention to the fact that she was doing pretty much the same thing. Only, her eyes were constantly moving from his nose to his eyes, up to his forehead, down to his cheeks and those weird things he called birthmarks.

"Are those really birthmarks or did you have a stroke of rebellion and get tattoos?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Ash cocked a brow before a smile broke out across his face.

"Tattoos? Are you kidding? Why would I do that?" he laughed, turning over on his back, staring at the dark ceiling. May hummed in response, also turning on her back. She spread her arms out, purposefully whacking Ash in the process.

"What's wrong with getting tattoos?" she asked.

"Nothing, I guess. It's just not my thing. I mean, what happens if I don't like it?" he asked.

"Commitment issues, eh? That's not good." She joked in a sing song voice but Ash frowned until she slapped her palm against his forehead in a playful gesture. He flinched, touching the tingling skin before staring at her incredulously.

"I do not have commitment issues…do I?" his tone came out a little uncertain, which caused the slight upturn of May's lips as she sat up on her elbows to stare at him. He switched his gaze to her figure and watched as she turned over on her stomach, still resting her weight on her elbows.

"Well let's see. Have you ever given up on something?"

"No."

"Are you constantly changing your mind at the last minute?"

"No."

"Are you afraid to talk about the future?"

"No?"

"Do you have more than one personality?"

"What? No!"

"Then your answer is no! You do not have commitment issues! Congrats!" May praised him with a wink and the upward jut of her thumb. Ash hummed to himself as he too sat up, his back resting on the headboard. Scratching his head awkwardly, he turned to her with an unsettling expression.

"What's with that face?"

"How do you…how do you know so much?" he felt himself going out on a limb by asking the question. Mostly because every time he asked, she always found some way of avoiding the subject or giving him a less than satisfying answer in favor of focusing on something else. This was the part of May's personality that he found the most intriguing. Rather, the part that he knew the least about so of course he'd be the most interested in it. Especially since she seemed so allusive about it.

"Ash, why the sudden interest?" she asked with a sly expression.

"Huh? I'm curious, I guess. Do all girls know this much about love?" he asked.

"Some do." She shrugged. "Sometimes it's instinct or intuition. Other times it's experience."

"What about you?" he wasn't sure why he was suddenly curious about her and her knowledge on the subject of love, he just was. He wondered where all her wisdom came from. If she watched a lot of movies, or if she read tons of books, or if she just was naturally full of wisdom. Did she have that weird intuition or was all this knowledge stemmed from previous experiences?

"Let me be mysterious for a little while longer, 'kay?"

He wanted to know now more than ever.

* * *

Eventually the two of them drifted off to sleep, or at least that's what Ash thought. While he slumbered noisily on his side of the mattress, May awoke with a start eyes wide and fearful. After a few seconds of inaudible breathing she managed to calm her raging heart. Slowly, she crept from underneath the blankets, as not to disturb her partner, and moved to stand by the window.

In the distance, thunder crashed in time with the lightning flashing, momentarily lighting up the dark colored sky. Just for an instance the lightning lit up the span of the room, giving a clear view of her face, momentarily illuminating deep sadness reflected in her blue eyes. A disease even she, herself didn't particularly understand.

Just as lightning once again struck the clouds, May once again depart from the confines of room, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

It wasn't until the storm began nearing closer to the ship that a very startling crash or thunder woke Ash from his deep sleep. Startled awake by the noise, his eyes popped open while his entire body tensed in response to being wrenched from his dreams. Soon his ears picked up on the sound of pelting rain against the bedroom window.

That's when he came to the conclusion that it was storming out.

Groaning a bit, he turned over on his side, preparing to fall back asleep. Only, something didn't seem right. So he turned over again to see May's side of the bed was empty. Not only that, but it was cold. So he switched his gaze to the bathroom. The door was open and the light was off. He was the only one in the room, save for Pikachu who had also been stirred by nature.

That's when he realized that May was gone.

"Where'd May go?" he called out to his partner who, in return, stretched out his body before murmuring out a response. Ash frowned significantly before pushing the covers back and standing. He looked around the room and everything was relatively in the same place as when they laid down earlier. His backpack and her fanny pack were still here as well as both of their belts.

This worried him. Not that he considered the ship to be dangerous enough for May to carry her pokémon with her at all times but the fact that she didn't anyway bothered him. What if something were to happen and she needed them? Like if the ship started to sink? What would happen? He didn't like thinking pessimistic thoughts but he wasn't in the mood to be optimistic either.

"We better go look for her." He resolved. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder just as he slid on his shoes. Grabbing the remaining room key, he left out the door, dashing down the hallway as the storm continued to rage on. He had no idea where he was supposed to look, only that he had to do it fast. He wasn't sure what this girl was up to, leaving the room at this time of night in the middle of a storm no less. The only thing he was knew was that finding her was the main priority.

He continued a steady jogging pace until he came upon the door that led to the main deck area. Through the glass he could see the storm raging on in full force with rain falling in all directions and thunder rumbling at fifteen seconds intervals.

And he felt himself pause in his search for just a moment to take in the sheer ambience of it all. He had always sort of revered nature for its beauty but the scene that lie before him was strikingly terrifying yet strangely magnificence, so much that he found himself lost, suddenly feeling very small compared to the rest of the world.

"Pikapi!" an excited shout and a few hearty tugs from his starter was enough to pull him from his dazed state to look past the scenery and give attention to what, or whom, he had originally left the comfort of his room for. Hands slammed against the glass of the door while his brown eyes squinted at the blurry, figure standing on the deck amidst this unforgettable storm. He hoped to God above that it wasn't May. But that pajama set looked dreadfully familiar under the flash of lightning.

That was all it took for him to go rushing out into the mess.

"May!" he called, shielding himself from the rain. He left Pikachu inside as he ran out to get his partner. She sat crouched on the deck with her knees pulled up to her chest, her face planted against the skin of her thighs. She was soaked to the bone, clothes clinging to her form like a second skin while her drenched locks whipped around widely with the call of the wind.

"May, what are you doing!" he shouted as he inched towards her stationary form. Still no movement. He grimaced, quickening his pace before kneeling beside her, placing his hands on her shoulders, trying to ignore just how chilled her skin felt beneath the thin pajamas top.

Her head rose in response to the contact and she soon met Ash's look of concern with a gaze that caused his blood to run cold. She didn't seem to be aware of her surroundings nor of the fact that she was soaked beyond belief.

"Ash?" she called out quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"What am—! What are you doing? Out here in the rain?" His tone went up an octave as he twisted her body around to face him, his fingers digging into her shoulders while his gaze became stern. What kind of question was that for her to ask? And why was she out here? What was she doing?

"I…I don't know." She replied, looking over her shoulder at the water sweeping over the deck and into the ocean below. She tucked in her bottom lip before loosening the grip on her knees, letting her arms rest on the floor of the deck. Ash gazed at her warily before standing, deciding it was probably best to get back inside as soon as possible.

"Come on, let's go back to the room." He suggested with a sigh. He watched as she too stood, just inches away from him with her gaze lingering somewhere on his chest. His arm twitched at his side, resisting a foreign urge to wrap it around her shoulder. But did the situation call for that? Would it be seen as a sigh of comfort? How would she respond?

_'At this point, I guess all logic has been thrown away…'_ were his thoughts as he pulled her to his side, the two of them walking back to the glass door where Pikachu sat waiting with a worried expression etched onto his little face.

* * *

It was awkwardly silent once the three of them walked into the shared room. Awkward on Ash part for he had no idea what to say to her. Part of him was a little upset at her for pulling such a stunt. Another part was worried that something was really wrong. And another was dreading the fact that this could be just one of her weird ways of teaching him another life lesson about love.

So he busied himself with getting towels from the bathroom for them to dry off with. When he reentered he found May seated on the floor, hugging her knees, only her head was leaning back against the bed. He moved to sit next to her, handing over the towel in the process.

"Thanks," she muttered. He grunted in response while covering his head with the towel, not really feeling up to drying himself off. He heard May shuffle beside him, probably drying her hair while he sat still, trying to conjure up a way to approach her and the situation at hand.

"You wanna talk about what just happened?" he started.

"I don't really know what happened." Came her reply.

"Oh," dejected, he also started drying his hair.

"Thank you, for coming to get me." Pause.

"I was worried! Why would you do something like that?!" Surprise.

"I—I just-"

"Don't ever do anything like that again!" he hadn't meant to shout at her, honestly. It just came out like word vomit. It was like her gratitude triggered some pent of frustration the was centered around her weird actions. Not only that but the frustration about not knowing anything about her. About not being able to connect with her like his other friends. This frustration about not being able to help her. At all.

Even though was she was sitting right next to him, she suddenly felt so far away.

"I won't." he snapped out of his rage to her see her gaze locked on her damp knees as she stood up from the floor. And he immediately felt terrible for snapping at her like that.

"May, I'm-"

"I won't do anything like that again. I promise." She smiled before walking to the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Ash fell back onto his haunches, burying his head in his hands. How could he shout at her like that? After what happened, what with finding her outside in the middle of a storm of all places, shouting was the last thing he should've done.

But strangely, all he could think about was her smile and how _right_ it seemed at that moment.

To Be Continued.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm a day late annnnnnnnnd I'm sorry. Yeah, that's about all I have to say at this given moment. So what'd you think of this chapter? I'm not going to give any thoughts or synopsis. So just write out your thoughts, comments, questions, concerns. Ok?

Thanks to:**Tbroome535, DavidShawnMichael, Dzchan94, Katherine Loves Kisses, joaquincabrera2, hungergamesfanatic789, Midnightmoon602, rainbowpikachu123, Tucker1901, KillerBeatle908, The Konoha's Booze Hound, Gaurdian125, willy008, luis1113, and my 100****th**** reviewer PurpleRock!**

If I wasn't a poor college student I'd send all of you guys boxes of pocky! I really would. Anyway, next chapter will be updated on a Friday in the near/distant future :) So be on the look out! Check those emails and alerts! See you in chapter 15!

Krystal

Please excuse any and all mistakes. I'm real tired. U_U going to bed now. G'night!


	15. Chapter 15

_"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"_

* * *

**Meeting You**

By KrystalClear101

* * *

_"What else am I supposed to kiss her with?"_

* * *

Chapter 15

"Hey Ash, what kind of band-aid did you give me the other day?" came the voice of May from inside the bathroom. Ash was seated on the perfectly made bed, tying his shoes while his travelling partner sat atop the bathroom counter, inspecting her earlier injury.

"Uh…" his voice trailed off while hands dug inside of his pack, picking through potions, repels, pokéballs, ah! Band-aids! He fished out the box, reading the details on the front as May exited with the old band-aid still stuck securely to her leg.

"This is extra strength." He said.

"Ah, I thought so. It's been almost a week and it's still there! It's not waterproof?" she asked.

"No, but if it's extra strength I don't think it matters." He shrugged, tossing it back into his pack before slipping the straps on his shoulders with a nice tug. May hummed lightly to herself before grabbing her pack and slipping it around her waist.

* * *

After breakfast, the two of them talked about exploring the rest of the island, possibly stopping by the beach to do a little swimming, surfing, and tanning on May's part. As they departed the room, Ash's mind couldn't help but remember the events from the previous night.

He had told himself not to think about it. He was supposed to let it go and move on. It happened and now it was over. End of story. But he couldn't, even though he though part of him wanted to. It was the other part that was annoyingly curious about everything and it kept him stuck on the issue. He wanted to know why she was out there. How she got out there. And why she didn't even seem to be fazed by it at all.

He wanted to know so much but—

"Snow cones or ice cream?"

It just wasn't time.

"Hm?" he turned to her with a questioning gaze. She was pointing at two vendors across the way, selling ice cream and snow cones respectively.

"Ice cream it is!" she cheered, taking his response as a yes. Ash on the other hand just watched silently as she ambled over to the vendor, ordered two cones, and ambled back. She handed him one while eating her own.

"Thanks…" he muttered, staring down at the slowly but surely melting treat in his hands. He was amazed at the rate she consumed sweets and wondered how in the world she gained the right amount of nutrition. Was it possible for someone to solely live off sweets?

"So," she began in between licks. "Are you ready for a lesson in physical contact?"

"Physical contact?" he asked, suddenly startled out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, like touching." She replied.

"Sure, I guess."

"No guessing! Your answer must be firm and full of confidence!" she bellowed, pointing a dramatically stiff finger at him. He flinched at her declaration and let a nervous laugh slip out in response.

"Yes, I'm ready."

"Good. Let's find a spot to discuss the gory details."

"G-gory?" he called rather weakly, not liking the sound of that.

"It's just an expression, think nothing of it." She waved him off. This elicited a sigh from him as they continued walking. Soon they reached the sandy beach covered with people and pokémon alike, all out enjoying the afternoon sun and its light. They happened upon a small table sitting under an umbrella to sit at.

Pikachu encouraged the two of them to release the other pokémon just so he wouldn't have to sit and listen to their conversation. Both complied happily, tossing pokéballs, or ball in Ash's case, into the air and watching their companions raced across the shore.

"Now this lesson is very important in your quest to finding love. The physical aspect can make or break the relationship so it's vital that you pay close attention." She explained. Ash nodded, sitting up a little straighter, leaning in a little closer, making sure she had his full attention.

"I'll go over four parts," as she started naming them off, her fingers rose in response. "When it's too much, when there's not enough, public displays of affection, and boundaries."

"Ok." He nodded.

"They all kind of tie into each so understanding shouldn't be all that hard. First, I'll go over boundaries. The specific boundaries I'm referring to are the ones that keep you inside of the friend zone."

"The friend zone?" he asked.

"It's not a physical place but more like a mental area inside of your mind. The place where you put members of the opposite sex who will forever be your friend and nothing more." She said.

"Oh ok. I get it."

"Shoulder touches, pats on the head, poking, light shoves, things like that. Those are the ways that friends typically touch or interact with one another. These are safe touches. Touches that won't elicit or create feelings between the two of you if done on average. They are also common among siblings."

"And these will keep me in the friend zone?" he asked.

"Yep."

"And if I want to be more than friends I should be more direct but…still subtle?" May was a little surprised by his questioning statement. He was catching on a lot quicker than she anticipated. A feeling of pride washed over her as she leaned her elbows on the tabletop and smiled at him.

"Exactly! If she's attentive, she'll catch on soon enough. Now once you've gotten yourself out of the friend zone it's important to know when it's appropriate to touch."

"Public display of affection, right?"

"Correct. More widely known as PDA. Some people are embarrassed by it because it's public. This is my rule, if you wouldn't do it in front of your mother, don't do it in public. It's pretty self-explanatory in my opinion. Do you get it?" Red in the face, Ash nodded silently, his gaze completely glued to something to the left of their table.

"Lastly I'll tell you about levels of touch, when it's too much and when it's not enough. Most of the time you'll be able to tell when things are getting out of hand and when they're lacking. But if you're not sure, just ask."

"Ask who?" he asked.

"Your girlfriend." She replied. Once again red in the face, Ash scratched behind his head nervously.

"O-Oh, right. Yeah!" May just laughed in response, switching her gaze to their pokémon building a sand castle just a ways down the shore.

"It's okay to stop if things get awkward or uncomfortable." She said. "Some people have this misconception that girls are the ones in control but it works both ways. But as a guy, you should be more conscious of her feelings when exercising that control." She explained.

"Like…?"

"Don't make her feel like she's been rejected. That's one of the worse feelings ever."

"How am I supposed to know what to do?" he asked.

"There isn't a sure fire way of knowing what to do all time. Every situation is different and calls for the appropriate actions. Just do what feels right according to each situation. If you feel the need to touch her, that's an itch you're going to have to scratch. But don't attack it. Approach it gently. One step at time and at your own pace. You set it and she'll follow."

"Why would she follow me?" he asked.

"Hm? That's your role in the relationship. To be the leader, in some areas. This is why I encouraged you to show confidence. No girl is going to give you the time of day if you have no confidence in this matter. You have to be the guide even if you find yourself getting lost. Just don't let her know, 'kay?" she winked.

"Yeah okay. I think I understand what you're saying." He replied.

"Good. Now follow me!" After removing her shoes, May rushed down to the shores of the beach with Ash following not too far behind. He caught up to see her standing at the meeting point of the sea and the sand, watching as the water flooded over her bare toes.

"See that?" she asked, pointing downwards.

"See what?" he asked, confused. It was just wet sand. He didn't understand what she wanted him to see.

"The spot passed where the tide rolls in." he nodded in response. "Now touch it. Go on, it's not gonna hurt!" she teased. Obliged, Ash pressed his palm down onto the sand, leaving a print until it washed away with the tide.

"Now what?"

"Now touch the sand that's dry." She instructed. Ash gave her another confused glance before marching up to the dry sand and touching it with his hands. Naturally, it slipped through his finger and right back onto the ground.

"What's this for?" he asked as she walked up to him. May smiled a bit before taking a seat on the beach, patting the sand next to her for him to sit as well. He followed suit, sitting with his legs crossed while her knees were tucked beneath her.

"What did the first sand feel like?" she asked.

"It was wet, and cold, and a really hard." He answered.

"Now the second one?"

"The second one was dry and hot, and soft." He answered again.

"Very good. Now, touch this sand." She said, holding out a clump of damp sand in her hands for him to touch. Eyebrow raised, he took the clump and held it in his hands. Immediately it formed a shape around his fingers until it crumbled down onto his lap.

"What's that feel like?"

"It's…warm, a little wet and smooth. What's this for?" he asked, finally voicing his concerns.

"I'm using a metaphor to teach you. In any kind of relationship, physical contact is necessary. But in terms of romantic affairs, it's the most important, next to verbal contact. I had you touch the three kinds of sands to get you to understand how much contact is needed to maintain a strong, sturdy relationship."

"Ok?"

"Let's say the first sand is too much contact, the second sand isn't enough, and third is just right. Like Goldielocks and the three Ursarings." She smiled. Ash nodded in response as she continued.

"Right." She nodded and continued.

"Your relationship is going to be a sand castle, ok? Now if you use the first sand, or too much contact, you'll most like find yourself in a hard position. Like not being comfortable. But if you use the second sand, which is not enough contact, the relationship will fall apart. You get where I'm going with this?" she asked.

"I think so. If I use the third sand then my castle, er my relationship, will stand on its own."

"Right you are! I don't see why you need my help. You're like a natural at this." She said while smiling at him. He sighed, cheeks slightly tinted while a cocky grin slowly crept its way onto his face.

"You think so?" he asked.

"Yeah. But we've still got a lot of ground to cover. Besides, you haven't even talked to a girl since Olivia. I thought we'd meet at least one in Dewford." She said with a slight pout. Ash's grin soon faltered into that of a small frown as he took in her words. They hadn't really had much success in meeting girls, that was true. But part of him was a little glad for that. He didn't feel like he was ready yet.

"I guess you're right." He said in response. It was quiet after that, the sounds being the beach goers, and tide rolling in and out. Ash's gaze rose to the slightly cloudy blue sky above, staring at the fluffy clouds trying to discern what shapes they most resembled. He ended up falling on his back just looking above as a warm breeze swept by.

"Say Ash,"

"Hey May,"

Both were surprised at the simultaneous call. Ash beckoned May to go first to which she smiled and opened her mouth to speak.

"What happens after you find the one?"

"I—I'm not really sure."

"Hmm. What were you going to say?" she asked.

"Just that I'm really glad that you're helping me out and that…that whenever you want to talk, I'll listen." He sat him and faced her head on, watching as her eyes widened. From what, he didn't know, but that same urge that arose the previous to touch had returned. He did what a friend would do.

With his hand planted firmly atop her head, he ruffled her brown locks a bit before smiling at the slightly pouty but appreciative expression on her face. He really was grateful to her and all that she was doing even if he felt that he couldn't reciprocate. The best that he could do at this moment, him knowing close to nothing about her, was be there if and when she needed him.

"One day."

To Be Continued.

* * *

**A/N:** Guys. This hurt. It hurt so bad. Like I can't even explain. It's just—urgh oh the pain! The pain!

Moving on. It's short and about three weeks late but at least we're in the same month still, right? So they have a lesson in physical contact. Did you guys like my metaphor? It was mondo cool, right? I know, I know. Anyway what'd you think Ash is going to do after he finds the one? What's May going to do? How many more chapters am I going to write? I don't know….

Thanks goes to: **MAD- The Awesomeman, SupernalGodzilla, Dzchan94, onigirixdango, PurpleRock, Midnightmoon602, Gaurdian125, DarthWill3, Katherine Loves Kisses, PAS-15, JonX21, David Sturridge, SamehJay, RashardKAZE, SilverIcy, Phant0m212, Trainer Jayden, JJWalker, Betamax16, Cyberbeasttitan, and hungergamesfanatic789! **

Only those who aren't too lazy to login are eligible for the pocky mentioned last chapter *cough* Trainer Jayden *cough* Ok! Go review guys! I'll see you in chapter sweet 16!

Krystal


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